Bellows, Shah drop Maine Democratic Senate bids; Troy Jackson likely nominee
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah, a former public health official, announced their withdrawal from the race to replace Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner on Sunday. This now leaves Troy Jackson, a logger and former state Senate president, as the likely nominee.
Bellows said in a statement that President Donald Trump’s “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.”
“This has been an unprecedented nominating process, compressed into days instead of months, and I’m grateful to every volunteer who worked around the clock for this movement,” Bellows said. “That energy is exactly what we need to beat [Republican Sen.] Susan Collins in November — and Democrats don’t have a day to waste in unifying around that shared goal.”
Shah, meanwhile, also said he is stepping down, as well as endorsing Jackson, because “Susan Collins will not be defeated without a united Democratic Party.”
“We cannot unite without treating one another with respect,” Shah said. “No matter whom you supported in this race, I urge us all to remember that in the weeks ahead.”
Jackson, Bellows and Shah all ran in the gubernatorial primary last month. Shah finished second, and Jackson finished third, while Bellows was in fourth place. Hannah Pingree ultimately nabbed the Democratic nomination for governor.
Most delegates chose Jackson
This news came as Michigan Democrats spent the weekend selecting the candidates delegates will officially nominate at a state convention next weekend. A majority of the delegates present at these meetings committed to voting for Jackson, a progressive candidate.
Maine is one of Democrats’ best chances to flip a Republican Senate seat, and Collins is seen as a particularly vulnerable incumbent GOP lawmaker. This makes the outcome of this race especially crucial to Democrats in their quest to overtake the Republicans’ Senate majority.
Platner suspended his campaign after a woman he used to date, Jenny Racicot, told Politico he sexually assaulted her. In a video announcing his exit from the race, Platner denied the allegation and blamed the “political establishment” for forcing him from the race.
Who is Troy Jackson?
Jackson grew up in Aroostook County, describing himself as a “a poor kid in a town full of poor kids” on his campaign website. He comes from a long line of loggers.
He served for two decades in the state legislature, spending six of them as president. While he first ran for office as a Republican, The Washington Post reported, he went on to become an independent, then came to the Democratic Party in 2004.
Some of his priorities, if elected, according to his website, are passing Medicare for all, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and ending tax funding for Israel’s military, which he has said is committing genocide in Gaza.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
