{"id":773049,"date":"2026-07-20T01:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/773049\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T01:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:56:13","slug":"top-maine-senate-candidates-end-campaigns-as-troy-jackson-builds-democratic-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/773049\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Maine Senate candidates end campaigns as Troy Jackson builds Democratic support"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANFORD, Maine \u2014 Former state Senate President Troy Jackson is racking up support to become Maine\u2019s next Democratic Senate nominee, with his top opponents ending their campaigns on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and physician Nirav Shah, a former top public health official in the state, both announced they would be leaving the race.<\/p>\n

Bellows made her announcement Sunday morning, while Shah exited the race Sunday evening after Democrats across the state selected delegates to next week\u2019s state nominating convention. Jackson quickly established a seemingly insurmountable advantage in delegates <\/a>as his supporters swept counties throughout the state.<\/p>\n

Delegates at next week\u2019s convention will select a new nominee to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins, after primary winner Graham Platner abruptly ended his campaign<\/a> last week after a sexual assault allegation, which he denied.<\/p>\n

In a nod to Jackson\u2019s strong showing this weekend, Shah threw his support behind the former legislator.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Maine Democrats: Susan Collins will not be defeated without a united Democratic Party. And we cannot unite without treating one another with respect,\u201d Shah said in a statement. \u201cNo matter whom you supported in this race, I urge us all to remember that in the weeks ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bellows did not mention Jackson in her announcement, saying in a statement, \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s attacks on our democracy are only accelerating, and the best way that I can serve our state and country at this moment is by focusing exclusively on my role as Secretary of State.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban also ended his Senate bid Sunday night, saying in a statement that it has \u201cbecome clear from the county nominating meetings that we lack a path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kleban signaled support for Jackson as well, saying, \u201cFrom the very beginning, my focus has been on defeating Susan Collins. I will do whatever I can between now and November to help Troy Jackson finally achieve that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The abrupt ends to their campaigns capped a whirlwind week in which the candidates s<\/a>crambled for an early edge<\/a> in the race. <\/p>\n

Democrats in York County had just started voting for delegates to next week\u2019s state convention when county party Chairwoman Kathie Purdy announced the news that Bellows was leaving, prompting gasps throughout the crowd. <\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s slate of delegates captured nearly all of the slots up for grabs<\/a> in Saturday\u2019s county meetings and continued that streak on Sunday. Those delegates are not required to support Jackson at the convention, even if they were elected as part of his slate.<\/p>\n

At a rally Sunday morning with supporters ahead of the York County meeting, Jackson already sounded like a likely nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery candidate and every supporter deserves our respect, because this moment, I know for a fact, is way bigger than any one candidate, certainly, is way bigger than I have ever been,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cAnd a lot of people poured their hearts in this movement, before I even entered this race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson later hinted at a winnowing field, telling reporters at the county meeting, \u201cIf we have a day like [Saturday], the rest of the candidates will drop out and we\u2019ll just be getting the nomination next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson said he had heard from a couple candidates who expressed their \u201ccongratulations.\u201d He said they \u201cpretty much\u201d suggested they would end their campaigns before the convention, but declined to say whom he spoke with.<\/p>\n

Shah had been making the case that he is the strongest contender to take on Collins, saying in a recent debate that the race came down to \u201celectability.\u201d And Shah told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press Now\u201d<\/a> on Friday that he thought Jackson would struggle to win statewide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he would have as good of a chance to beat Sen. Collins as I would,\u201d Shah said. \u201cSen. Jackson came in third place in the primary, did not have the same number of first-choice [votes], and thus may not have the same ability to unify the party in all parts of the state \u2014 north, south, east, west \u2014 as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Shah said he was backing Jackson with the goal of beating Collins in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cSusan Collins, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are banking on disunity and frustration from Maine Democrats to try and win this seat, and we are not going to give them that,\u201d Shah said. \u201cMaine Democrats are united, angry and energized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shah, Bellows and Jackson all competed in the governor\u2019s race but did not win the nomination. All three candidates support similarly progressive policies, like \u201cMedicare for All\u201d and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.<\/p>\n

They were able to quickly spin up their old campaigns after Platner\u2019s exit, and Jackson has stressed that his team focused on organizing his slate of delegates ahead of county meetings this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as we got the delegate list, I mean, I was calling, people were calling to find out where people stood and if they needed any more information about me,\u201d Jackson told reporters Sunday, the former logger pointing to his union roots as a strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the union, that\u2019s what we do. We organize and go after it because it\u2019s so important,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

But Jackson could still face competition at the convention.<\/p>\n

Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer who is running for the Senate, told NBC News at the York County meeting that he plans to stay in the race. He raised concerns about Jackson\u2019s vocal support for Platner, suggesting Republicans could use those ties against Jackson if he is the nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that Troy can beat Susan Collins. I think it\u2019s going to be difficult, though, because he helped introduce us to Graham and got a lot of \u2014 conveyed a lot of trust and authority onto him, as did Bernie Sanders,\u201d Wood said. Sanders endorsed both Platner and Jackson in their primaries earlier this year, but has stayed neutral after Platner ended his Senate bid.<\/p>\n

Jackson \u201ccan overcome it, but it\u2019s going to be tough,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n

But some Mainers who supported Jackson\u2019s opponents are beginning to view Jackson as their likely nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, this entire process is about whose campaign can organize the best effort,\u201d said Shaun Donnelly, a 44-year-old computer graphics artist who had been running to be a Bellows delegate from York County. He had been supporting Bellows because after Platner, he \u201cwas not excited about getting behind another white dude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the numbers are true and Troy has the majority of the activists in the party behind him, those are the people who we need energized to win in the fall,\u201d Donnelly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think overall it\u2019s a good thing, and I look forward to voting for him if he wins,\u201d Donnelly said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANFORD, Maine \u2014 Former state Senate President Troy Jackson is racking up support to become Maine\u2019s next Democratic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-773049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}