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Maine Democrats pick Troy Jackson to replace Graham Platner in Senate race

In Maine's U.S. Senate race, state Democrats have nominated Troy Jackson to replace the scandal-plagued candidate Graham Platner.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Democrats have their replacement candidate to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Over the weekend, Troy Jackson officially took over for Graham Platner, who dropped out after being accused of rape - something he denies. Collins is running for her sixth term in a state currently dominated by Democrats.

MARTÍNEZ: Steve Mistler from member station Maine Public is following the race. All right. So, Steve, Troy Jackson was a president of the Maine Senate. He ran for governor this year, finished third. How did he persuade Democrats to overwhelmingly nominate him at their convention?

STEVE MISTLER, BYLINE: Well, I think the biggest reason, A, is - Jackson was able to consolidate support so quickly is that his politics and platform are almost indistinguishable from Graham Platner's. That is, he's a progressive Democrat who embraces the tax-the-rich, Medicare-for-All platform of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. In fact, Sanders endorsed both Platner and Jackson and the three of them campaigned together, and their message really seemed to energize the Democratic base here and even pulled a lot of independents. And, of course, that energy didn't help Jackson in the governor's race, but he told me he's hoping he can harness it against Collins.

TROY JACKSON: I think it's possible. I think it's - you know, anytime that people come together, you can change the world. And I definitely think that this is the time.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And he's definitely sounding a little more subdued than Platner there. He sounded that way when I spoke to him back in July - early July. Now, does that matter in terms of motivating voters?

MISTLER: It may. I mean, Platner was a charismatic, dynamic speaker, and Jackson, by his own admission, is not. He was asked about this over the weekend and he said he's a work horse, not a show horse, but Democrats are hoping that his working-class bona fides and populist style could matter in this race. He's a logger who helped lead a high-profile labor dispute more than 20 years ago that really launched his political career. And while his positions on social issues have changed dramatically over time, his pro-worker pursuits have not. And he and Democrats think that Collins is especially vulnerable, given that big corporations and wealthy people are spending heavily to support her reelection.

JACKSON: That's why, you know, we have the government we have. These billionaires have bought the government and we don't have enough money to buy it back. And I am sick of that, and many, many people across the state and country are sick of it.

MARTÍNEZ: All right, so it's Jackson against Susan Collins. Has Collins responded to his nomination?

MISTLER: She has. I mean, she called Jackson a, quote, "Bernie Bro" in a reporter's gaggle last week, and that was before his nomination was official. And over the weekend, her campaign released a statement basically saying that Jackson and the Democrats are making grand promises that will cost trillions of dollars. But while Democrats want to shackle her to Trump and billionaires, she's also trying to run a very local campaign that focuses on the money she brings to Maine. That's how she was so successful in the 2020 election.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. Jackson does not have a lot of time before Election Day. How's he going to assemble a campaign?

MISTLER: Well, that will be a challenge and money will be a challenge. Collins has spent very little and Jackson has very little. But when I talked to him, he was more worried about time.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Steve Mistler from member station Maine Public. Steve, thank you.

MISTLER: My pleasure.

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