After Platner implosion, Maine Democrats rush toward new Senate nominee despite fresh warning signs

BANGOR, Maine - The sprint to replace ex-candidate Graham Platner will come to an end on Saturday as Maine Democrats are expected to quickly elevate Troy Jackson as their party's nominee in the high-stakes Senate showdown with longtime Republican Sen.Susan Collins.Jackson, a former state Senate president, is on a glide path to replace Platner at the Maine Democratic Party nominating convention in Bangor, after winning the vast majority of the voting delegates chosen last weekend by Democrats in the northern New England state's 16 counties.

And Jackson's top rivals in the race to replace Platner backed him after dropping out of the race the past few days, leaving only one long-shot candidate for delegates to also consider at the convention.The Senate race in Maine, where Collins is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost in the 2024 election, is one of roughly a dozen midterm showdowns across the country that will determine if Republicans hold onto their slim majority or if the Democrats win back control of the chamber."Let’s get to work to defeat Susan Collins and create the Maine that working people deserve," Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from the remote northern tip of Maine and a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago, said in a social media post ahead of the convention.WHO'S UP AND WHO'S DOWN: CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONSFormer Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, who ran unsuccessfully this year for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, is on a glidepath to replace ex-candidate Graham Platner as the Democrats' Senate nominee in Maine.(Sophie Park / Bloomberg via Getty Images)While Jackson quickly raised over $1 million for his burgeoning Senate campaign and coalesced party support, there are some potential warning signs.Following reports this past week digging into Jackson's alleged temper and workplace conduct, reported claims of mor...