{"id":49061,"date":"2026-07-08T12:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49061"},"modified":"2026-07-08T12:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:50:16","slug":"troy-jackson-files-to-explore-senate-bid-as-graham-platner-faces-growing-calls-to-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/troy-jackson-files-to-explore-senate-bid-as-graham-platner-faces-growing-calls-to-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy Jackson Files to Explore Senate Bid as Graham Platner Faces Growing Calls to Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Troy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Troy Jackson speaks during a May Day rally organized by local unions on May 1, 2026 outside City Hall in Portland, Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Graeme Sloan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Graham\u2019s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I\u2019m the best person to replace him,\u201d said Jackson, the former Maine Senate president.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 07, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Maine<\/a> Senate President Troy Jackson filed federal paperwork on Tuesday to explore a US Senate<\/a> bid after a sexual assault allegation<\/a> against current Democratic nominee Graham Platner prompted a torrent of calls for him to drop out of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson, a fifth-generation logger who lost Maine\u2019s Democratic gubernatorial primary last month, was among those urging Platner to end his Senate campaign following Politico\u2019s reporting<\/a> late Monday, writing<\/a> on social media<\/a> that \u201cthere is no place in our politics for sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maine<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bernie Sanders Advises Graham Platner to \u2018Step Aside\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Democratic<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following Platner Allegations, Progressives Warn Democratic Establishment: \u2018This Is Not Your Opening\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, which first reported<\/a> the news of Jackson\u2019s filing, the former gubernatorial candidate said<\/a> that \u201cif Graham\u2019s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I\u2019m the best person to replace him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner denied the sexual assault<\/a> allegation and, as of this writing, has yet to drop out of the race, though his departure is widely seen as a foregone conclusion as his most prominent supporters\u2014including Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.)\u2014push him to exit. One unnamed source told<\/a> The New York Times<\/a> that Platner is seeking a \u201cguarantee\u201d that he \u201cwould be replaced by someone in agreement with \u2018the values and vision and policy agenda\u2019\u201d that he articulated throughout his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson, like Platner, was endorsed by Sanders and has expressed support for Medicare for All<\/a>, stronger union protections, wage increases, and other progressive priorities. In recent months, Jackson has joined Sanders and Platner at \u201cFighting Oligarchy<\/a>\u201d rallies<\/a> where the former Maine Senate leader said American workers<\/a> are being robbed by a billionaire class bent on enriching itself no matter the societal costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am running for the people who worked their entire lives and still can\u2019t afford to retire because the economic system in this country is rigged against them,\u201d Jackson said<\/a> during a Labor Day rally last year. \u201cAnd I\u2019m running for all the workers<\/a>… who\u2019ve been told that they\u2019re replaceable and that their lives are disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner, who backed<\/a> Jackson\u2019s gubernatorial bid, can be replaced as the Democratic nominee in the US Senate race against Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins<\/a> if he withdraws by July 13. By a process yet to be determined, the Maine Democratic Party<\/a> would have until July 27 to select a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cthe options under discussion include a convention or a statewide caucus in late July.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Troy Jackson speaks during a May Day rally organized by local unions on May 1, 2026 outside City Hall in Portland, Maine. \u00a0(Photo by Graeme Sloan\/Getty Images) \u201cIf Graham\u2019s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I\u2019m the best person to replace him,\u201d said Jackson, the former Maine… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2006,2088],"tags":[1948,2163,2164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49061"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49062,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49061\/revisions\/49062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}