Republicans Kick Off Maine Senate Ad Campaign, Tying New Candidate Jackson to Disgraced Nominee Platner

Fresh off the Maine Democrats’ nomination of Troy Jackson as their new Senate candidate, Republicans are wasting no time trying to tie him to his predecessor, Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race after being accused of rape. Messrs. Jackson and Platner co-endorsed each other as the former ran for governor and the latter locked up the Senate nomination earlier this year. Mr. Jackson came in third in that ranked-choice contest among five candidates. On Saturday, he was officially nominated for the Senate run at a convention of 601 Democratic delegates. He became the presumptive nominee last weekend after he and his team locked up the vast majority of delegates at county meetings across the state. By early last week, all of his major opponents had dropped out and endorsed him.“When the people in power refuse to listen, well, you have to organize. You have to stand together — in solidarity together and you have to make them listen,” Mr. Jackson said during his acceptance speech. Mr. Jackson will now face off against Senator Susan Collins in November — the three-decade incumbent who has a history of cross-party appeal, winning significant victories in her blue state. In 2020, she outran President Trump in the state by nearly 20 points. President Biden carried Maine by nine points while Ms. Collins won her race by nine points.Republicans are betting that Mr. Platner will loom large over the general election with voters wary of Democrats who stood by the embattled nominee for so long. Through the scandals around his old Reddit posts, the disclosure that he had gotten a Nazi tattoo, and allegations that he had physically abused women, the vast majority of Democrats — including Mr. Jackson — were willing to give Mr. Platner the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t until he was accused of rape earlier this month by a former girlfriend and Democratic voter that leading Democrats called on him to drop out of the race. On Saturday, the same day he accepted the Senate nomination, Republicans began running ads highlighting Mr. Jackson’s ties to Mr. Platner, as well as Mr. Jackson’s own past behavior, which has caused concern among colleagues. CNN reported that while serving as president of the Maine state Senate, Mr. Jackson threw a water bottle when he was upset with a female lawmaker. The unnamed lawmaker said she feared that the bottle was being directed at her, though Mr. Jackson denied that and another lawmaker who was in the room recalled that Mr. Jackson threw the water bottle away from everyone. CNN also reported that some of his colleagues remember Mr. Jackson’s temper. The reporting details how Maine legislators saw Mr. Jackson pound desks and storm out of rooms during heated moments. On Saturday, the Senate Leadership Fund — the outside spending group tied to the majority leader, Senator John Thune — unveiled its first ad which focused on the reports of Mr. Jackson’s outbursts and his relationship with Mr. Platner. “Jackson has a history of conflicts with women — bullying, even intimidation,” the new 30-second ad states. “Jackson is like Graham Platner, but worse.” The ad begins and ends with shots of Mr. Jackson leading rallies with Mr. Platner. Ms. Collins has derided Mr. Jackson as someone too far to the left to represent moderate Maine in the Senate. In an interview with CNN at the Capitol this past week, Ms. Collins called Mr. Jackson a “Bernie bro” — referring to Senator Sanders’ support for Mr. Jackson back when Mr. Jackson was running for governor. Mr. Jackson has already raised more than $1 million for his campaign effort and is in a virtual tie with his Republican opponent. Ms. Collins is expected to have a massive financial advantage headed into the fall, however. The Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend at least $42 million on behalf of Ms. Collins before election day. Another pro-Collins group — the Pine Tree Results PAC — has reserved nearly $24 million in ad space. Ms. Collins herself has a significant fundraising lead, with more than $11 million in her personal campaign account. According to the political ad spending tracker, AdImpact, the 2026 Maine race could cost $490 million — more than double the $200 million that was spent the last time Ms. Collins was on the ballot in 2020.

Republicans Kick Off Maine Senate Ad Campaign, Tying New Candidate Jackson to Disgraced Nominee Platner

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