Troy Jackson sweeps Maine delegate elections to challenge Sen. Susan Collins

Troy Jackson will be the replacement Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine after decisively defeating his opponents in the 16 county delegate elections held over the weekend. Jackson will face Senator Susan Collins on the November ballot as a substitute for Graham Platner, leveraging Platner's formidable organizing network to dominate the competition.

Landslide Victory

A total of 17,279 Mainers cast ballots in the race. Jackson's slate won the majority of the vote in 15 of 16 counties. In most counties—including the largest, Cumberland County (home to Portland)—his slate won every delegate. Overall, Jackson secured more than 90 percent of the delegates, according to a review by the Prospect.

Jackson, a former state senator and third-place candidate in this year's gubernatorial race, now has enough support to secure an absolute majority on the first ballot at the July 25 convention in Bangor. The 101 state committee members would not matter even if they voted as a bloc against him.

Opponents Concede

Jackson's top two opponents in the quick-strike nomination race—Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and public-health official Nirav Shah—both dropped out on Sunday and endorsed Jackson. Neither had a path to victory, as their slates failed to secure more than a handful of votes. Some of those who did win also appeared on Jackson's slate.

"In November, Mainers will defeat Susan Collins, and we will take back our Senate seat from the billionaires and corporations who think they own it," Jackson said on social media.

Fundraising Disparity

The progressive Jackson, who earned the support of the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America during the governor's race, starts out $11 million behind Collins in fundraising. That figure does not include the $8 million held by Pine Tree Results PAC, Collins's own super PAC funded by billionaire private equity tycoons.

However, in a state with fewer than 900,000 registered voters, grassroots mobilization matters. Jackson has just demonstrated that his network has the capacity to deliver.

Grassroots Organization

An unexpected single-location countywide caucus on a weekend in July presented a unique challenge, even as a high-profile event within the state. Jackson identified a delegate slate, and members of Platner's volunteer network—which at its height numbered 15,000 across the state—swung to Jackson's side during the accelerated process. The two candidates agreed on most issues, prioritizing the concerns of working families, labor, and the need for universal health care.

Organizers wearing "Jackson for Maine" T-shirts left over from his gubernatorial run stormed the weekend caucuses after a week of phone bank calls to get supporters out. Jackson's longtime connection to the labor movement also aided organizing efforts; he holds the endorsement of the state AFL-CIO.

Voices from the Ground

John Kirk of Blue Hill (Hancock County) and his wife Susan became Jackson delegates based on "his platform, his progressive track record and on the recommendation of our daughter and her friends in South Portland," Kirk told the Prospect via text. Kirk's Democratic club held a straw poll early in the week, with Jackson receiving two-thirds of the vote. Local state representative Nina Milliken and several other supporters organized the slate in conjunction with the campaign while also collecting signatures for Jackson's candidacy.

Outside the Hancock County meeting in Ellsworth, Kirk and others manned the table and spoke with voters. "In the end it worked out," he said. Jackson's slate won 22 out of 23 delegates.

A large number of delegate candidates, in their personal statements, spoke to the need to honor the will of Maine voters, who gave Platner the nomination with 72 percent of the vote in June. Platner withdrew after a credible allegation of sexual assault.

A Test of Retail Politics

The unusual circumstances created a one-week mini-campaign where television ads were nonexistent, outside groups exerted no influence, and success was measured in grassroots muscle—getting people out to community meetings and having conversations with neighbors. Jackson's alignment with Platner's movement and the various forms of organization he could draw from made the contest straightforward.

Retail politics may be the only area where Jackson holds an edge, given the financial disparity between the two candidates. But that can go far in a heavily dispersed state where turnout is typically high. The caucuses became a test of how candidates could reach people below the din of campaign cash and on-air sound bites—and Jackson soared over the bar.