Shenna Bellows Drops Out, Clearing Troy Jackson's Path to Maine's Democratic Senate Nomination

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows withdrew from Maine's scrambled Democratic Senate primary Sunday morning, according to the Portland Press Herald, clearing the last major obstacle between Troy Jackson and the party's nomination against Sen. Susan Collins.

Her exit came as county caucuses wrapped up across Maine's remaining eight counties. Jackson swept nearly all of York County's 84 delegates Sunday, with at least 83 publicly declaring support for him ahead of time, according to the Press Herald; a Bangor Daily News analysis found he won 77 outright, with the other seven uncommitted. Combined with his Saturday performance, Jackson had locked down at least 367 of the 403 delegates awarded through Sunday afternoon, according to the Bangor Daily News, all but assuring him a majority of the full 601-member convention heading into the July 25 vote.

The math had been trending his way since Saturday, when eight of Maine's 16 counties held their first round of delegate meetings. Jackson won at least 290 of the 319 delegates chosen that day, according to the Bangor Daily News, including 148 of 149 in Cumberland County, all 44 in Penobscot, and 22 of 23 in Hancock.

A fast, improvised process

This convention exists because Graham Platner, the insurgent candidate who spent nearly a year building a coalition around taxing billionaires, ending "forever wars" and military aid for Israel, and passing Medicare for All, dropped out of the race earlier this month following a sexual assault allegation he has denied. The Maine Democratic Party quickly wrote new rules to fill the vacancy, settling on a 601-member delegate body — 101 state committee members plus 500 representatives chosen at county caucuses — to pick the nominee at a July 25 convention.

Delegates are not formally bound to vote for any candidate under those rules. The tallies reported by both the Bangor Daily News and the Press Herald reflect delegates who either appeared on Jackson's published slate or publicly declared their support ahead of the vote, giving him a credible claim on their ballots next weekend.

Who is Troy Jackson

Jackson, 58, is a logger from Allagash who spent two decades in the Maine Legislature and rose to Senate president. He built his political identity as one of the state's most visible labor Democrats, leading a 1998 border blockade against Canadian logging competition. He ran for governor this year but trailed for most of the race, raised comparatively little money, and finished third.

His path to frontrunner status wasn't obvious even a month ago. What changed, according to Common Dreams, was Jackson's ability to mobilize former Platner volunteers and his top allies in organized labor into the best delegate organizing operation ahead of the weekend caucuses. Platner had ranked Jackson his No. 1 choice in the gubernatorial primary, and the two campaigned together frequently alongside Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a longtime Jackson ally.

Speaking to supporters in Sanford before Sunday's caucus, Jackson wore a "solidarity" t-shirt and credited his ground game rather than his own name recognition. "Those delegates were not handed to us," he told the crowd, according to the Press Herald. "We earned them because hundreds and hundreds of people organized their neighbors, made the calls and showed up."

In a video posted to social media after Saturday's results, Jackson was blunter with his own volunteers, according to Common Dreams: "I didn't do a goddamn thing, all of you just smoked it."

The general election setup

If Jackson is formally nominated next Saturday, the race pits two Aroostook County natives against each other. Collins, 73, was raised in Caribou, at the edge of the state Senate district Jackson once represented in the St. John Valley.

That region complicates Jackson's brand as a labor Democrat. It's ancestrally Democratic territory that has swung hard toward Donald Trump and Republicans in recent elections, and Jackson himself lost a 2023 race for Allagash selectman after a recount. His voting record has shifted too. Early in his legislative career he backed abortion restrictions and opposed gun control, positions common in his socially conservative, heavily Catholic home region. In recent years he has championed abortion rights and gun control legislation.

At the Sanford rally, Jackson attacked Collins for her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and accused her of "standing by while the (Trump) administration attacked federal workers, unions, immigrants, healthcare and the basic rights of Maine people," according to the Press Herald. He did not mention Platner by name but positioned himself as carrying forward Platner's fight-for-the-little-guy pitch.

What the polling shows

The general election picture remains close. One poll released earlier this month had Jackson trailing Collins by a point. A SurveyUSA poll taken last week found him a point ahead instead, according to the Bangor Daily News. Sabato's Crystal Ball is holding the race at a toss-up.

The Maine State Nurses Association endorsed Jackson Sunday morning, adding to his labor backing heading into the formal nomination vote. The July 25 convention will make it official, but with delegates unbound by party rule, the remaining question is whether the delegates still to be counted, or those not yet publicly declared, follow the pattern set over the weekend.