Maine Dems Graham Platner replacement Troy Jackson has vicious angry past including infamous water-bottle incident

WASHINGTON — Maine Democrats seeking a US Senate candidate have gone from an accused rapist to a pol known for vicious anger flare-ups, including when he hurled a water bottle in a fit of rage over a female pol at a meeting.Troy Jackson — a former lumberjack poised to clinch the Democratic nod to replace disgraced alleged sex attacker and oyster farmer Graham Platner — furiously lobbed the bottle during a temper tantrum while meeting with Democrats after a then-fellow state lawmaker refused to change her vote.“He was an inch from her nose, screaming and hollering and haranguing her,” a former colleague recounted to the Washington Post, noting that there wasn’t physical contact.At the time, Jackson was serving as president of Maine’s state Senate, and the targeted female lawmaker was terrified that he was attempting to hit her with the water bottle, something his campaign firmly denies.“Troy Jackson is passionate and deeply invested in the people and policies he advocates for,” Jackson’s nascent campaign said in a statement to CNN, acknowledging that there was “a water-bottle incident.”“Over 22 years in public office, there have been moments when he let his frustration get the better of him.When that happened, he took responsibility and apologized directly at the time.”Jackson’s campaign claimed that witnesses said, “The bottle was thrown away from everyone and struck no one.”Rumors about the incident quickly swirled after Jackson was dangled as a replacement for Platner, whose campaign tanked amid rape and other deeply disturbing accusations from women.

Platner has firmly denied those allegations.Many Democrats and outside observers are concerned that the party’s next standard-bearer in the race may have damaging skeletons in their closet a la Platner.In addition to the water-bottle incident, Jackson is accused of screaming at a female state speaker of the House and cursing her out so aggressively that she had to kick him out of ...