Maine Democrats replace Graham Platner with Troy Jackson in Senate race against Susan Collins

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson is now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate after party delegates selected him July 25 at a convention in Bangor. He will face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the November 3, 2026, general election.

Jackson’s nomination followed Graham Platner’s withdrawal after Platner won the June Democratic primary. The Associated Press reported that Platner withdrew after a sexual-assault allegation; Platner has denied the allegation. The allegation is not a finding of wrongdoing.

Why Democrats had to move quickly

Because the primary nominee withdrew, Maine Democrats held a replacement-nomination convention rather than conducting another statewide primary. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and former state lawmaker from rural northern Maine, was selected by party delegates.

The timing was important. The Maine Secretary of State’s election page says the filing deadline for replacement candidates was 5 p.m. July 27, 2026. That deadline has passed.

The Secretary of State’s office lists primary winners who withdrew after the primary separately from replacement nominations and says replacement candidates are added to the general-election candidate list as the Division of Elections receives the required nominations and filings. Jackson’s selection therefore changed the Democratic nominee without reopening the primary to all Maine voters.

What happens next

The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The immediate remaining candidate deadline is for declared write-in candidates.

A person seeking to run as a declared write-in candidate must file a Declaration of Write-In Candidacy with the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections by 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 25, according to the state’s election page and its 2026 Candidate’s Guide to Ballot Access.

That deadline applies to candidates formally declaring a write-in campaign. It is different from a voter writing a name in the space provided on a ballot. A declared write-in candidate’s name generally will not be printed on the ballot, but the candidate can qualify under Maine’s write-in rules.

Ranked-choice voting is still conditional

Maine’s federal Senate contest could be decided using ranked-choice voting, but that will depend on the final number and type of qualifying candidates.

The Secretary of State’s 2026 candidate guide says the November 3 general election for U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress will use ranked-choice voting if three or more candidates qualify for the office, or if two candidates qualify for the ballot and a declared write-in candidate is in the race.

If only two candidates qualify and no declared write-in candidate joins the race, the Senate contest would not meet those conditions for ranked-choice voting. The guide separately says November general-election contests for governor and the Maine Legislature are decided by plurality regardless of the number of candidates.

In a ranked-choice contest, voters rank candidates in order of preference. Municipal officials initially count first-choice selections. If no candidate appears to have more than 50% of the first-choice vote, ballots and voting data are sent to the Secretary of State in Augusta for a central tabulation.

Why the change matters statewide

Jackson’s selection gives Maine Democrats a new nominee less than four months before the general election and resets a Senate contest that will be decided by voters statewide. Collins, a five-term Republican incumbent, remains the Republican nominee, while Jackson enters the general-election campaign after a replacement process compressed by the July 27 filing deadline.

The next procedural checkpoint is August 25, when declared write-in candidates must file. Maine’s final candidate list will determine whether the Senate contest has two ballot candidates, additional qualifying candidates or a declared write-in candidate — and therefore whether ranked-choice voting will apply on November 3.

Sources

• Maine Secretary of State: Upcoming Elections
• Maine Democratic delegates choose Troy Jackson as new nominee to face US Sen. Susan Collins
• Democrats unite behind Troy Jackson as their next U.S. Senate candidate