Politics
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Presumptive U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson will join two other Democrats on the ballot at the party’s unprecedented U.S. Senate nominating convention on Saturday.
The former Maine Senate president, former government official David Costello and biopharmaceutical CEO Saundra Pelletier are the only candidates eligible for the nomination to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins heading into Saturday’s convention in Bangor.
Jackson locked up enough delegates — at least 456 of the 601 making the decision — in this past weekend’s county caucuses to secure the nomination. Several other candidates have suspended their brief Senate bids, which initially arose in the aftermath of oyster farmer Graham Platner exiting the race after Politico reported a rape allegation by an ex-girlfriend.
Maine Democrats had announced Tuesday that Jackson, Costello, Pelletier and Maine Beer Co. founder Dan Kleban qualified for the ballot after the party verified petition signatures submitted by the campaigns by a Monday deadline. After the announcement, Kleban’s campaign confirmed he filed paperwork to formally drop out.
The 500 delegates from all 16 counties elected this weekend and the 100-member Democratic State Committee will have the final say on who faces Collins in November.
The delegates are not formally pledged and can vote for whomever they choose on Saturday. But Jackson, a logger from Allagash, picked up support Saturday and Sunday from a majority of the 601 people poised to pick Platner’s replacement.
Jackson and his supporters credited his background in labor and his progressive agenda as key factors in quickly organizing support for his Senate run after he finished third in first-choice votes in the Democrats’ gubernatorial primary last month.
The certification of signatures marked “another important milestone in this open, transparent and inclusive nominating process,” Devon Murphy-Anderson, the Maine Democrats’ executive director, said in a statement. She said the party looks forward to “hearing directly from these candidates.”
Jackson’s top rivals, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former public health chief Nirav Shah and former 2nd District candidate Jordan Wood, dropped out of the race Sunday after Jackson’s lead in supportive delegates appeared insurmountable.
Kleban’s withdrawal marks the second time he has exited the race. He briefly ran for Senate earlier this cycle before dropping out to endorse Gov. Janet Mills, then re-entered after Platner’s exit.