{"id":922,"date":"2026-07-07T19:42:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=922"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:42:06","slug":"first-challenger-files-paperwork-to-potentially-replace-platner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=922","title":{"rendered":"First Challenger Files Paperwork to Potentially Replace Platner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson is the first Democrat to officially explore a run to replace Graham Platner, the embattled<\/u><\/span> Democratic nominee for Maine\u2019s U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n

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Jackson filed Federal Election Commission paperwork on Tuesday to form an exploratory committee for the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something I never considered, but if Graham\u2019s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I\u2019m the best person to replace him,\u201d Jackson told the Bangor Daily News<\/u><\/span>, which first reported<\/u><\/span> his decision to launch an exploratory committee, on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Graham is still hanging on<\/u><\/span> to his chance to face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), despite calls from Democrats<\/u><\/span> across the ideological and leadership spectrum for him to drop out over a sexual assault allegation by a woman he dated in 2021. Platner immediately denied the allegation in a two-minute video<\/u><\/span> posted to X shortly after Politico<\/u><\/span> released the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,\u201d Platner said Monday.<\/p>\n

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The \u201cDraft Troy\u201d effort gained significant momentum after the latest allegation against Platner. A website<\/u><\/span> for the movement describes Jackson as a \u201cproven progressive with a track record of winning the tough races\u201d and calls on Mainers to add their name to a petition in support of the potential candidate. It is unclear who is behind the effort.<\/p>\n

Jackson, who endorsed Platner in February but called for him to drop out Monday, filed to form an exploratory committee \u2014 what the FEC refers to<\/u><\/span> as \u201ctesting the waters\u201d ahead of a possible campaign. He can \u201cexplore the feasibility of becoming a candidate\u201d through certain activities such as conducting polling, traveling and making telephone calls, according to FEC guidelines<\/u><\/span>. Jackson will have to officially register with the FEC once his committee raises or spends $5,000.<\/p>\n

Jackson is the first potential candidate to launch an exploratory committee, but he isn\u2019t the only person Democrats have explored in the scramble to replace Platner \u2014 who said on Monday that he was taking a step back from campaigning to consider his political future. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former public health chief Nirav Shah and former 2nd Congressional District candidate Jordan Wood are also at the top of some Democrats\u2019 lists.<\/p>\n

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Former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson has been hyped as an alternative progressive candidate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campaigns"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Challenger Files Paperwork to Potentially Replace Platner - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=922\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Challenger Files Paperwork to Potentially Replace Platner - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson has been hyped as an alternative progressive candidate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=922\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T19:42:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"First Challenger Files Paperwork to Potentially Replace Platner\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T19:42:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922\"},\"wordCount\":433,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ededca0c55b77bb6a138be509a938a9d-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Campaigns\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922\",\"name\":\"First Challenger Files Paperwork to Potentially Replace Platner - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ededca0c55b77bb6a138be509a938a9d-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T19:42:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=922#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ededca0c55b77bb6a138be509a938a9d-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ededca0c55b77bb6a138be509a938a9d-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Troy Jackson, Democratic candidate for governor, speaks to reporters at a campaign event Friday, June 5, 2026, in Bar Harbor, Maine. 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