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Troy Jackson emerges as potential frontrunner to replace Graham Platner in Maine’s Senate race

Troy Jackson, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during a demonstration outside of a federal immigration office after a man was fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, on July 14, 2026 in Scarborough, Maine. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson appears all but certain to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for Senate in the party’s bid to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins this November.

Jackson’s campaign said Monday that “it is turning its full focus toward defeating Senator Susan Collins,” citing a “decisive advantage” during recent county-level caucuses.

Jackson, who comes from a logging family not far from the Quebec border, is a familiar face to Maine voters due to his history of activism and his lengthy background as a state lawmaker in Augusta.

His campaign’s statement also came after an eventful Sunday for Maine politics as four other Democrats dropped out of the running: Dan Kleban, Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah and Jordan Wood.

“We are suspending our campaign tonight. This is the conclusion of the caucuses and letting this process play out,” Wood, the former chief of staff to Katie Porter when she served as a congresswoman representing California, said in a selfie-style video posted to social media on Sunday evening.

“I’m so proud to endorse my friend Troy Jackson. I didn’t know Troy until over a year ago when I decided to run for office for the first time, but he has become a friend, someone I trust, someone that I know represents and will serve all people in Maine,” Wood added.

Shah and Kleban, like Wood, also endorsed Jackson. Bellows did not mention Jackson when suspending her Senate campaign.

Maine Democrats held county-level nomination meetings over the weekend in order to select delegates ahead of their party’s Senate nominating convention set for this coming Saturday, July 25.

While the Maine Democratic Party’s website lists that eight candidates remain in the race to replace Platner, including former primary candidate David Costello and activist Ashley Webb, delegates who expressed support for Jackson received overwhelming support at the nomination meetings and the candidates who withdrew Sunday were previously viewed as Jackson’s main rivals.

Jackson’s campaign said that 481 of 500 county delegates support his candidacy. A total of 601 delegates will participate in the July 25 convention, with the additional 101 delegates being members of the Maine Democratic State Committee.

Just over six weeks ago, Jackson stood in front of a crowd in a Bar Harbor theater to ask Mainers to support his own bid for governor (a race he lost) and to vote for Platner in the Democratic Senate primary.

But after Platner was accused earlier this month of sexual assault by a former girlfriend, an allegation he’s denied, Jackson joined calls for him to exit the race. Platner formally withdrew his candidacy on July 10.

Now, in nearly a week, Maine voters should know for certain whether Jackson will officially be the Democrats’ pick to try to flip the high-profile Senate seat.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Protester escorted out, placed in handcuffs after incident at city meeting to discuss Royals downtown stadium agreement

By CNN
Click here for updates on this story    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) -- Tensions boiled over at the Kansas City Finance Committee Meeting Tuesday as the public met with city officials to discuss public financing of the new Kansas City Royals downtown ballpark.Members of the public were each given two minutes to speak while the committee discussed an ordinance that, if passed, would authorize the City Manager to execute a lease, non-relocation agreement, community impact partnership agreement, and funding agreement with the Kansas City Royals for the proposed stadium near Crown Center.During the meeting, individuals with the group Stand Up KC, part of Missouri Workers Power, were seen standing in the committee room in protest of the public financing portion of the agreement.Video shows one individual in a red shirt shout comments about justice during the meeting. When security intervened and attempted to escort the individual out of the room, a struggle ensued.That struggle continued into the hallway outside of the city council chamber. KMBC 9 News Reporter Krista Tatschl watched as the individual was wrestled to the ground and placed into handcuffs.Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas exited the chambers during the struggle. Krista Tatschl caught up with him in the hallway. He told KMBC 9 News that he hoped public comment could continue and that cooler heads could prevail.This is not the first time tempers have flared at a meeting discussing the new Kansas City Royals stadium. A meeting in July ended early after repeated disruptions.Less than an hour later, the measure passed out of committee unanimously and will head to the full City Council on September 3.Missouri Workers Power issued a statement shortly after the passage identifying the individual as Darrell Miller, who works at the stadium but not employed by the Royals."Security pinned him to the ground and handcuffed him as he told them he could not breathe. The Council continued its fast-track of an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to execute a lease, funding, and development agreement for a stadium at Crown Center," a spokesperson said in the statement."Miller came to the hearing today, along with other Missouri Workers Power members, to speak against a deal that would commit $600 million in public money to a billionaire's stadium while Kansas City cuts transit, schools, and housing. Instead of being heard, he was taken into custody."Missouri Workers Power condemns the council’s decision to move forward with public financing for the project without a public vote. When you add state incentives, the total public cost of this stadium could exceed $1.5 billion over 30 years while Kansas City faces a $100 million budget shortfall, underfunded schools, a transit system in crisis, and a housing shortage working families can't afford."The group said the passage of today's ordinance "ignores the more than 4,500 Kansas Citians who signed a citizens' initiative petition demanding a public vote," adding that Miller was one of the individuals who signed that petition.Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
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