By Patrick Svitek, Ethan Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson has built an overwhelming advantage in the short and unusual contest to replace Graham Platner and take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a must-win race for Democrats in their bid for control of the US Senate.
Delegates on Jackson’s slate won about 300 of the 319 slots up for grabs Saturday during the first day of county-level delegate selection for the July 25 convention to pick a new nominee.
If those delegates remain supportive of Jackson, that would give him roughly the support he’d need to win the nomination at the convention. Jackson will look to further tighten his grip on Sunday when the state’s remaining counties elect 181 more delegates.
“We’re well on our way to getting the government that we deserve,” Jackson said Saturday night on X, addressing supporters. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Platner dropped out the race on July 10 amid a series of scandals that culminated in a rape allegation that he denies. While Jackson was among those who called on Platner to end his bid, Jackson previously campaigned alongside Platner and presented himself as the candidate best positioned to continue his progressive political movement.
Jackson has a more understated style than Platner, who thrilled crowds across Maine with his gravelly voiced denunciations of the rich and powerful. But Jackson tied himself closely to Platner in an unsuccessful bid for governor earlier this year and has directly appealed to Platner’s former supporters.
“The movement that you’ve built can win,” Jackson told former Platner supporters when he launched his campaign for the nomination.
The July 25 convention, which will be held in Bangor, will feature 601 delegates. Five hundred delegates will come from this weekend’s county elections, while the remaining 101 will come automatically from the Democratic State Committee.
Eight counties elected their delegates Saturday. The delegates on slates released in advance by Jackson’s campaign won about 94% of the slots up for grabs, including every slot in the three largest counties that held contests.
In Cumberland, the state’s largest county and home to Portland, voters could vote for up to 179 of roughly 1,300 prospective delegates. The top 149 vote-getters who qualified for delegate slots all appeared on Jackson’s slate.
Jackson originally ran for governor in the June primary, placing third in the first round of voting. Two other former gubernatorial candidates, epidemiologist Nirav Shah and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, are also seeking the Senate nomination at the convention. There were 12 candidates going into this weekend’s county meetings.
Like Platner, Jackson had the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, in his last race and ran on a platform aimed at working-class progressives. Jackson supports the universal healthcare program known as “Medicare for All,” raising taxes on billionaires, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also opposes military aid to Israel at a time when Democrats are sharply divided on the US’ relationship with the country.
Jackson has been involved in Maine politics for over two decades. Most of that time was in the state Senate, where he was president from 2018 to 2024.
It remains to be seen how Jackson would make the case against Collins compared with Platner. Like Platner, Jackson has criticized Collins as part of a group of elitists that has overlooked working-class Mainers.
All the candidates for the nomination have spent recent days criticizing Collins as too supportive of IC