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Graham Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign, maintains innocence

17 days agoCenter

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has suspended his campaign following sexual assault allegations. He has denied all claims. The 41-year-old announced his decision in a social media video on Wednesday. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.

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Dems get renewed hope of ending GOP senator’s near-30-year career

Raw Story

10 hours ago

Dems get renewed hope of ending GOP senator’s near-30-year career

Maine Democrats on Saturday overwhelmingly nominated Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president and logger by trade, as their party’s nominee to challenge longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November’s high-stakes US Senate election.“Well, thank you, Maine,” Jackson, 58, said after securing the votes of 566 of 571 delegates during Saturday’s special Democratic convention at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. “Today we turn the page, today this becomes a general election campaign, and today we win the work of defeating Susan Collins in November.”“For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is ‘concerned’,” Jackson said, referring to the 73-year-old incumbent’s go-to word when President Donald Trump and Republicans attack rights and justice. “She was concerned while she rubber-stamped Trump’s Medicaid cuts and gutted our healthcare.”“She’s concerned when she cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy,” he continued. “Concerned when she confirmed justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. And really tragically, she was concerned when she gave [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] billions to terrorize our neighbors and murder people in the streets with no accountability.”“But concern does not lower the costs of groceries or gas,” Jackson said. “Concern does not keep our monitoring wards of rural hospitals like down in Lincoln County open. Concern does not restore all the rights that she’s taken away. Maine does not need another six years of concern. We need someone with courage. We need a fighter, and we need a senator who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington.”“So if you’ve ever been ignored, underestimated, pushed around, or told that you have to wait your turn while the rich cut the line, I’m asking you to stand with us in this campaign,” he continued. “If you believe in your heart that healthcare is a right, stand with us. And if you believe that workers deserve power, stand with us. And if you believe our freedoms are worth defending, stand with us.”“And if you believe that Maine deserves a senator who will fight like hell for working-class people, well, stand with us,” Jackson added. “We have a party to unite, we have a movement to build, and we have a senator to defeat.”Jackson’s improbably rapid rise followed former Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the race earlier this month amid allegations of sexual assault and abusive behavior. Supporters of Platner’s progressive platform warned at the time that they would not back a replacement candidate who did not share the same pro-worker, anti-war agenda.While Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernen called Jackson a “low-energy version” of Platner, Maine Democrats decided the fifth-generation lumberjack fit the bill.“The working class has been left behind and forgotten about,” Shelly Mountain, a former Aroostook County Democratic Committee chairwoman and Jackson delegate at the convention, told NBC News. “He is definitely working class and always—has always—been a champion for the working class.”Progressive politicians, advocacy groups, and labor organizations cheered Jackson’s nomination, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) saying that “he’s ready to fight for working people and flip this seat.”International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) president Brian Bryant said Saturday that “Troy Jackson knows firsthand what it means to work hard for a living and fight for a better future for working families.”“Throughout his career, he has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with union members and working people, never backing down from a challenge when workers’ rights were on the line,” he added. “He represents the strength of a people-powered movement focused on fairness, opportunity, and economic justice. Troy has our full support as he heads to the general election.”

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Breitbart News

12 hours ago

Exclusive—Jenny Beth Martin: Senator Murkowski, Let’s Get You to ‘Yes’ on the SAVE America Act

Senator Lisa Murkowski’s concerns about the SAVE America Act are legitimate, and they can be fixed with amendments rather than a no vote. The post Exclusive—Jenny Beth Martin: Senator Murkowski, Let’s Get You to ‘Yes’ on the SAVE America Act appeared first on Breitbart.

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Who is Troy Jackson? Maine’s swap-in for Graham Platner in Senate race

New York Post

13 hours ago

Who is Troy Jackson? Maine’s swap-in for Graham Platner in Senate race

Democrats are betting Jackson’s rural roots, labor background and populist message can connect with voters as Republicans say he is a longtime lawmaker with a blustery past.

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Worse Than Graham Platner? Troubling Personal Questions Emerge for Maine’s New Democrat Nominee for Senate – And He May Be Ineligible to Run

The Gateway Pundit

15 hours ago

Worse Than Graham Platner? Troubling Personal Questions Emerge for Maine’s New Democrat Nominee for Senate – And He May Be Ineligible to Run

The Maine Democratic Party may have just nominated a candidate who may be worse than the nominee previously forced out of the race, and there are even questions about whether he's eligible to run. The post Worse Than Graham Platner? Troubling Personal Questions Emerge for Maine’s New Democrat Nominee for Senate – And He May Be Ineligible to Run appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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‘Like Graham Platner but worse’: GOP group vows $42,000,000 campaign against last-minute replacement Democrat

BizPac Review

15 hours ago

‘Like Graham Platner but worse’: GOP group vows $42,000,000 campaign against last-minute replacement Democrat

A Republican group has vowed to spend at least $42 million against the new nominee to be one of Maine’s Democratic senators, Troy Jackson, the Daily Caller […]

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‘No Kings’: Without Statewide Vote, Democrats Anoint Troy Jackson to Replace Graham Platner, Open Convention with Performative ‘Land Acknowledgment’

The Gateway Pundit

16 hours ago

‘No Kings’: Without Statewide Vote, Democrats Anoint Troy Jackson to Replace Graham Platner, Open Convention with Performative ‘Land Acknowledgment’

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Democrat Graham Platner was forced out of the Maine Senate race after he won over 70% of the vote in the state’s Democratic primary amid new allegations of rape. The post ‘No Kings’: Without Statewide Vote, Democrats Anoint Troy Jackson to Replace Graham Platner, Open Convention with Performative ‘Land Acknowledgment’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Troy Jackson secures Democratic nomination for Maine Senate seat after chaotic primary race

US news | The Guardian

17 hours ago

Troy Jackson secures Democratic nomination for Maine Senate seat after chaotic primary race

Progressive former state senate president gains nomination after Graham Platner dropped out over sexual assault allegationsIn a race defined by scandal, withdrawals and a frantic hunt for a replacement candidate, Maine Democrats hit reset on their chaotic Senate primary on Saturday as Troy Jackson officially secured the party’s nomination.He took the stage at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor to rapturous applause, a standing ovation and Noah Kahan’s Northern Attitude blaring over the speakers. “This is the absolute honor of my life,” Jackson said. Continue reading...

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Troy Jackson picked to challenge Collins in Maine after Platner's exit

Axios

17 hours ago

Troy Jackson picked to challenge Collins in Maine after Platner's exit

Democrats selected former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson on Saturday to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins this fall after Graham Platner's embattled campaign ended.Why it matters: Jackson's selection is another win for the left flank of the Democratic party, which lined up behind another progressive candidate as their best shot at flipping one of the most important seats to win back Senate control.Driving the news: Delegates to a special nominating convention selected Jackson Saturday morning, the Associated Press reported. Jackson all but locked up the nomination last weekend after Democrats across the state overwhelmingly selected his preferred delegate slate."We're well on our way to getting the government that we fucking deserve," Jackson said in a video to supporters at the time. Top contenders in the crowded race subsequently ended their campaigns. Jackson replaces the scandal-plagued Platner, who was accused of sexual assault — an allegation he denies.Catch up quick: Jackson, whose campaign describes him as a fifth-generation logger and "lifelong fighter for workers' rights," finished third in June's Democratic primary for governor.His campaign priorities include passing Medicare for all, cutting off tax dollars to Israel's military, abolishing ICE and passing a federal right to abortion.Progressive kingmaker Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Jackson in the gubernatorial race.What to watch: Jackson may have glided through his party's nomination process, but Republicans have been preparing for a massive ad blitz against whoever ended up as Platner's replacement.Go deeper: The Trump effect: Why Dems embraced a Platner time bomb

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Graham Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign, maintains innocence

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Graham Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign, maintains innocence

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