2026年7月29日 美国东部时间早上6:00 / 福克斯新闻
在性侵犯指控迫使格雷厄姆·普拉特纳退选后，杰克逊在党代表大会上获得了75%的代表票
作者：莱奥·布里塞尼奥 福克斯新闻
发布于 2026年7月29日 早上6:00 美国东部时间 | 更新于 2026年7月29日 早上6:34 美国东部时间
缅因州民主党在初选动荡后选出新候选人
福克斯新闻记者亚历克西斯·麦克亚当斯从缅因州班戈发回报道，民主党已选定特洛伊·杰克逊作为新任参议院候选人。此前格雷厄姆·普拉特纳退出竞选，引发了替换候选人的激烈争夺。
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尽管此前曾呼吁将普选作为缅因州总统选举的决定性因素，但缅因州联邦参议院民主党候选人特洛伊·杰克逊却因获得民主党提名而面临反弹，而此次提名过程绕过了常规的全州选民考量环节。
本月早些时候，缅因州参议院选举局势失控，当时民主党官方候选人格雷厄姆·普拉特纳被曝出性侵犯指控。
为应对这一风波，缅因州民主党宣布将启动公开程序，允许潜在替代候选人提交参选意向，并开始收集签名以获得 ballot 参选资格。随后，由601名代表组成的党代表大会将投票选出新的候选人。
前普拉特纳盟友特洛伊·杰克逊锁定代表票，民主党参议院提名的主要竞争对手退出
前缅因州民主党州参议员、州长候选人特洛伊·杰克逊与格雷厄姆·普拉特纳一同出席“打击寡头政治”活动时发言。（索菲·帕克 / 彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社）
“我们努力打造了一个公平的程序，包容缅因州民主党各界不同的观点和多元背景，因为我们齐聚一堂的最终目标是：击败苏珊·柯林斯，拿下这个参议院席位，”缅因州民主党官网写道。
“这种情况史无前例，但我们州党已经准备好并有能力迎接这一挑战。”
共和党全国委员会发言人克里斯汀·钱西猛烈抨击杰克逊和让他成为候选人的程序。
“越来越明显的是，特洛伊·杰克逊为了夺权可以不择手段——包括放弃选民应该决定选举结果的理念，”钱西在一份声明中说道。
“缅因州选民想要的是一位值得信任的参议员，而不是一个随时准备出卖选民的江湖骗子，”她补充道。
但即便在程序启动前，政治观察人士就认为，与普拉特纳一样同为进步派人士的杰克逊会胜出。和普拉特纳一样，杰克逊呼吁推行全民医保、废除移民海关执法局（ICE）、切断美国对以色列的军事援助，并对美国高收入群体增税。
这位民主党热门候选人在经历了多年的社会主义路线后，突然提出令人费解的主张
2026年5月24日，在缅因州奥罗诺市缅因大学柯林斯艺术中心举行的“打击寡头政治”巡回活动上，民主党联邦参议院候选人格雷厄姆·普拉特纳与特洛伊·杰克逊同框。（乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图片社）
反对普拉特纳提名的政治活动家、评论员香农·瓦茨立刻抨击杰克逊作为替代人选的可能性。
“所以不，我们不会选这个混蛋，”瓦茨说道，尽管有报道称杰克逊本人也曾有不当行为，但她预计党内进步派会支持杰克逊。杰克逊被指在2021年向民主党州参议员希瑟·圣本扔水瓶，杰克逊此后已为此道歉。
尽管瓦茨等人感到担忧，其他民主党人也对预先选定候选人表示不满，但在周六缅因州党代表大会的601名代表中，已有456人承诺支持杰克逊的提名——约占代表总数的75%。最终，杰克逊获得了566张代表票，占总票数的94%。
杰克逊没有立即回应置评请求，被问及他是否认为自己的提名绕过了常规初选程序。
过去，杰克逊一直强调民主党选民参与的重要性。
“我一直相信，无论我们在某个问题上是否意见一致，只要每个人都有参与的机会，我们的民主就能发挥到最佳状态，”杰克逊2020年在缅因州民主党初选前在X平台上写道。
2019年，他曾提出一项法案，要求缅因州将选举人票授予全国普选的获胜者，理由是他支持直接民主。
“让我们统计全国所有的选票，得票最多的人获胜；对我来说，这似乎是一个简单的原则，”杰克逊2019年对当地媒体说道。
获得提名后，杰克逊坚称即使没有全州投票来巩固他的候选人资格，他也能代表民主党的所有派系。
“这场竞选欢迎你们所有人。这场运动需要你们的参与。从现在到11月，我将每天都努力赢得你们的信任，因为今天我们翻开了新的一页。今天，这成为了一场大选竞选活动，今天我们就开始着手在11月击败苏珊·柯林斯，”杰克逊在获得提名后说道。
如果普拉特纳退出，接下来会发生什么？以下是谁可以替代他参选以及具体流程
2026年7月25日，在缅因州班戈，特洛伊·杰克逊在成为缅因州民主党选定的联邦参议院候选人以替换格雷厄姆·普拉特纳参加11月选举后发言。（乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图片社）
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值得注意的是，杰克逊获得了前副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯的背书——另一位在选举最后时刻出手挽救竞选的民主党人物。
“我明白在距离选举日仅剩很短时间时挺身而出是什么感觉。杰克逊从获得参议院提名到缅因州选民投票，只剩101天的时间，”哈里斯在周一的筹款邮件中说道。
莱奥·布里塞尼奥是福克斯新闻数字频道国会团队的政治记者。他此前曾在《世界杂志》担任记者。
Maine Dem in hot seat for championing popular vote despite clinching Senate bid without it
July 29, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News
Jackson secured 75% of delegate votes at a convention after sexual assault allegations forced Graham Platner out
By Leo Briceno Fox News
Published July 29, 2026 6:00am EDT | Updated July 29, 2026 6:34am EDT
Maine Democrats pick new candidate after primary shakeup
Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams reports from Bangor, Maine, on the Democratic Party’s selection of Troy Jackson as their new Senate candidate. This decision comes after Graham Platner withdrew his bid, sparking a scramble for a replacement.
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Despite past calls to make the popular vote the deciding factor for presidential elections in Maine, Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, is facing backlash for embracing his newfound Democratic Party nomination despite a process that circumvented the usual statewide consideration.
The Maine Senate election spun out of control for Democrats earlier this month when sexual assault allegations emerged against the party’s official candidate, Graham Platner.
Scrambling in response to the fallout, Maine Democrats announced they would create an open process, allowing potential replacement candidates to submit their intent to run and begin collecting signatures to appear on the ballot. Then, a convention of 601 delegates would vote to select the new nominee.
FORMER PLATNER ALLY TROY JACKSON LOCKS DOWN DELEGATES AS TOP RIVALS FOR DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION DROP OUT
Former state Senator Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Maine and gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a Fighting Oligarchy event with Graham Platner.(Sophie Park / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We have worked hard to create a fair process that is inclusive of varying viewpoints and diverse backgrounds of Democrats across the state of Maine, as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal: defeat Susan Collins and win this Senate seat,” the Maine Democrats website states.
“These circumstances are unprecedented, but our state party is ready and capable of rising to this challenge.”
Kristen Cianci, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, unleashed on Jackson and the process that made him the nominee.
“It’s become increasingly clear that Troy Jackson will shapeshift into anything he needs to in order to gain power – including abandoning the belief that voters should decide elections,” Cianci said in a statement.
“Mainers want a senator they can trust, not a snake-oil-salesman standing ready to sell them out at a moment’s notice,” she added.
But even before the process began, political observers believed Jackson, a fellow progressive like Platner, would prevail. Like Platner, Jackson has called for universal healthcare, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), severing U.S. military aid to Israel and raising taxes on the nation’s top earners.
TOP DEM HOPEFUL FLIPS SCRIPT AFTER YEARS IN SOCIALIST ORBIT WITH PUZZLING CLAIM
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and Troy Jackson stand together during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Shannon Watts, a political activist and commentator who opposed Platner’s nomination, wasted no time in blasting Jackson as a possible alternative.
“So no, we’re not going to pick this f—ing guy,” Watts said, anticipating the party’s progressive support for Jackson despite his own reported misconduct. Jackson allegedly threw a water bottle at fellow Democratic state senator Heather Sanborn in 2021, an outburst Jackson has since apologized for.
Despite apprehension from Watts and concern from other Democrats about pre-selecting a candidate, of the 601 delegates at the Maine convention on Saturday, 456 came out already committed to Jackson’s nomination — roughly 75% of the delegates. In the end, Jackson won 566 delegates, or 94% of the total support.
Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether he saw his nomination as a circumvention of the regular primary process.
In the past, Jackson has stressed the importance of Democratic participation.
“I’ve always believed that our democracy is at its best when everyone has a chance to participate – whether I agree with you on an issue or not,” Jackson posted on X in 2020 leading up to a Maine Democratic primary.
In 2019, he sponsored legislation that would have Maine award its electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, citing his support for direct democracy.
“Let’s total all the votes up across the country, and whoever gets the most votes wins; that seems a simple premise to me,” Jackson told local media outlets in 2019.
Since his nomination, Jackson has insisted he can represent all factions of the Democratic Party, even without a statewide vote to cement his nomination.
“There is a place in this campaign for all of you. There is work for you in this movement. And I will spend every day now through November earning that trust, because today we turn the page. Today, this becomes a general election campaign, and today we begin the work of defeating Susan Collins in November,” Jackson said after his nomination.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF PLATNER DROPS OUT? HERE’S WHO COULD REPLACE HIM ON THE BALLOT AND HOW IT WOULD WORK
Troy Jackson speaks as he became the Maine Democratic Party’s choice to be their U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Notably, Jackson has attracted the endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris — another Democratic figure who stepped in at the 11th hour to rescue a campaign.
“I know what it is like to step up to the plate with a short runway to Election Day. Troy will have just 101 days between his nomination for Senate and when voters in Maine will cast their ballots,” Harris said in a fundraising email on Monday.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.