Longtime Maine Democrat Troy Jackson filed paperwork to enter the U.S. Senate race, should the Democratic nomination become available. This comes after Graham Platner faced mounting pressure to end his Senate campaign due to rape allegations.

Background

Prominent Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have withdrawn their support for Platner and urged him to end his campaign. Platner has denied the allegations as ‘categorically false’ and remains in the race.

Under Maine law, Platner has until July 13 to withdraw if Democrats hope to replace him on the November ballot. If he steps aside before the deadline, the state Democratic Party will have until July 27 to choose a new nominee.

Jackson, who lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary, signaled his interest in the Senate race by filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He later took to social media to condemn the allegations against Platner while emphasizing that he has not yet decided whether to seek the nomination.

Jackson and Platner ran closely aligned progressive campaigns and appeared together at campaign events throughout the 2026 election cycle. Both embraced a progressive platform and earned the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Endorsements

Our Revolution, the progressive political organization Sanders founded, withdrew its endorsement of Platner and instead backed Jackson, whom it had also endorsed during his gubernatorial campaign.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.