Maine Democrats may have nominated someone as unelectable as Platner

Napoleon Bonaparte is alleged to have said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” He would have appreciated the silence from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) as the Democrats stumble through their primary season—especially since that stumbling seems to have taken them out of the Platner frying pan and into the Troy Jackson fire.

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Regarding Graham Platner’s brief stint as the designated Democrat candidate in Maine’s upcoming senatorial race, what finally did him in wasn’t the Nazi tattoo, his weird sexual response to Porta-Potties, his ridiculing a service member shot in Afghanistan, his cheating on his wife, his half-nude photos, the revelation that he was essentially a fake oyster farmer working for his rich mommy, or, at the end, the sexual assault accusations.

I know you think it was the sexual assault accusations that ended his political career, but that’s not true. What did him in was the fact that the Democrats finally figured out that Platner wasn’t electable, and they promoted the sexual assault accusations, which were long known, as an excuse to get him off the ticket.

However, Maine’s Democrats then had a new problem: finding someone to fill his shoes. The people assembled at the emergency candidates’ debate were not impressive, although Ashley Webb stood out (and only got stranger the more one learned about him):

Sadly, Webb flamed out. So, when the Democrat party Poobahs met to nominate Platner’s replacement, they landed on Troy Jackson. On paper, Jackson’s resume looks good, for he has a long political track record in Maine. He first served in the Maine House from 2002 to 2008, and then moved to the state Senate, where he held a seat from 2008-2014 and again from 2016-2024, eventually attaining the rank of Senate President.

This guy was a safe bet and a sure thing. Or was he?

Well, it turns out Jackson has some baggage, too. There aren’t any reports of politically incorrect tattoos (although I really do see a rising vogue for Nazi memorabilia in the Democrats’ increasingly popular National Socialists…er, Democratic Socialist of America party). However, there are problems.

First, in theory, Jackson is ineligible for the office. The Constitution grants states authority over their election rules—although I would argue that the Constitution’s Guaranty Clause means that a state’s rules cannot promote fraud, as happens with mail-in ballots or a refusal to allow voter ID, because such rules effectively deny all Americans their civil rights.

In any event, the Maine rule at issue doesn’t present such a problem. What you need to know is that Jackson ran for Maine governor earlier this year, but flamed out in the Democrat primary. Unfortunately for him, that might have triggered Maine’s “sore loser” law, banning candidates from losing one run for office and then jumping into another race in the same cycle:

If Jackson is disqualified, does that mean no one is on the ballot? Or does Ashley Webb maybe have a chance now, as the Maine Democrat with the greatest national name recognition? But seriously, since the Secretary of State is a Democrat who tried to knock Trump off the ballot in 2024, Webb probably won’t need to step up.

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But that’s not all. It also seems that Jackson has a long history of accusations about violence toward women (both verbal and physical), and alleged mortgage fraud and unpaid taxes:

According to a WaPo article based on interviews with over 24 people, Jackson was alleged to have:

• yelled, cursed, pounded tables, stormed out of meetings, and berated colleagues;
• repeatedly confronted female lawmakers;
• allegedly moved extremely close to Sen. Heather Sanborn’s face while screaming at her and throwing a water bottle in anger (that may or may not have hit her);
• had another heated confrontation with House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, who ordered him out of her office; and
• according to some, was intimidating or bullying.

CNN followed the bottle accusation, with five sources alleging that he meant to hit Sanborn with the bottle, frightening her badly. Jackson acknowledged he threw the bottle, but denied targeting Sanborn.

As for the accusations of financial malfeasance, Jackson purchased a house in 2019 using an FHA-backed mortgage that required he live in the house for a year as his primary residence. He didn’t. Jackson claimed he signed the form in error and blamed his mortgage broker, who denied wrongdoing.

And yes, Jackson did underpay state taxes and was fined, but frankly, that can happen even to honest people, so I doubt many will see this as a dealbreaker.

The real bottom line is this: Whether in Maine, with Jackson, an allegedly abusive and dishonest leftist, or on the national stage, with Kamala, a definitely dumb-as-a-rock leftist, Democrats have a lousy track record when it comes to going into their smoke-filled back rooms, consulting the Marxist oracles, and emerging with a candidate’s name.

I don’t doubt the Republicans’ incredible ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but for now it does appear that Maine Democrats are stepping on more rakes than they can handle.

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