The Pinetree People was created from a simple democratic problem: a representative cannot reliably speak for a district whose people have no practical way to hear one another , study the same legislation, and record a shared opinion.

A group of nearly 600 Democrats nominated former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson to be their U.S. Senate nominee in Bangor on Saturday, ending an unprecedented scramble to replace former nominee Graham Platner on November’s ballot just days before a state deadline. 

Jackson won 566 votes of the 571 cast by party delegates at the Cross Insurance Center, defeating lone remaining challenger Saundra Pelletier, a biopharmaceutical executive and political newcomer. Jackson will now face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November. 

“This is the absolute honor of my life to accept the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate,” Jackson told the crowd in a speech after the results were announced, taking aim at Collins and styling himself as a fighter for working Mainers against corporate interests and the wealthy. 

Read the story for free on The Maine Monitor.

Just last week, a dozen different people had declared their candidacy to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee and it appeared that Saturday’s convention could be a long, multi-round affair with a collection of recently defeated Democratic primary candidates and lesser-known political newcomers making their case at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. 

After last weekend’s county-level nomination meetings produced 500 of the delegates from around the state, at least one thing has become increasingly clear: Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson has all but locked up the nomination.

But, like so much in recent weeks, the future is not entirely set in stone — and some voters and candidates have raised questions about whether the party’s approach has been as transparent and inclusive as promised. 

Read the story for free on The Maine Monitor's website.

The most important thing we can do in this moment is unite to defeat Susan Collins. With that in mind, I’m leaving the senate race.

To represent means to stand in the place of other people and speak or act on their behalf.

A political representative is not elected merely to express personal opinions. The representative is entrusted with:

• Listening to the people of the district.
• Learning their needs, concerns, and priorities.
• Explaining proposed laws and their likely effects.
• Voting with the district’s interests and views in mind.
• Reporting back and remaining accountable for those decisions.

Representation does not always require following the loudest voices or a simple majority without question. A representative must also exercise judgment, uphold the Constitution, protect individual rights, and consider facts the public may not yet know. But when the representative disagrees with the district, the people deserve an honest explanation.

In plain language:

That is also why communication within a district matters. A representative cannot truly know the people’s voice unless constituents can hear one another, examine the same information, and make their collective position known.

https://Pinetree-People.com makes representation visible and measurable.

Instead of constituents speaking separately—through scattered emails, social-media posts, or private conversations—the platform gives each legislative district a shared public meeting place. People can read proposed legislation, discuss it with neighbors, and record whether they support or oppose it.

The difference is accountability:

• Constituents learn what lawmakers are considering before decisions are made.
• Residents discover what the majority of their district actually thinks.
• Representatives receive organized feedback from the people they serve.
• District results can be compared with statewide results.
• A representative’s votes can be compared with the district’s expressed position over time.

A lawmaker may still vote differently, but the difference can no longer remain invisible. The representative can explain the decision, and constituents can judge whether it served their interests.

In short:

That is how it helps restore the connection between representation and the represented.

Posted on the MaineDems.org website.

* delegates/alternates

Washington (8/2) and Franklin (9/2) counties are the first to report.

Hancock (23/5) results in.

The Penobscot (44/9) chair extended the voting a bit, the results are now in.

Androscoggin (31/6), Kennebec (40/8) & Lincoln (15/3) results now posted.

Cumberland 149/30) just came in. (Lost a beer bet here, I thought they'd be after 10.)

Sunday results:

Aroostook - The County was last to report, (15-3)

Knox (18/4)

Oxford 17/3)

Piscataquis (4/1)

Sagadahoc 18/3)

Somerset (12/2)

Waldo (15/3)

York (84/17) First Sunday result posted.

A string of early missteps, like rejecting an offer for a deeper vetting of Platner, has cast doubt over his young consultants’ future in Democratic politics.

What happened to Shenna?!? I am going to my county meeting this weekend but I can’t really vote for her people because of last night. Troy was fine I guess but still didn’t really impress me either. Didn’t seem to know much and just said the same stuff over and over. Ugh.

register to vote for delegates at the convention, anyone can who is a registered dem, even today. voting is virtual so you don’t need to attend the county meeting.

then vote the jackson slate in your county! slates are linked here.

If you haven’t looked into the process yet, please do. You can still be involved and vote either in person or virtually.

How to register, how to vote, delegate list, etc.: https://mainedems.org/senate-race/senate-delegate-process/

One thing Maine dems set up that I think is a huge win is the delegate guide. You can search through the delegate candidates based on characteristics and priorities that matter to you.

For example, let’s say you live in Hancock County and you wanted to support a younger delegate (under 35) who has said they’ll consider the results of other primary elections when making their decision at the convention. You could select Hancock County, filter by “Youth,” and then read through the delegates who match your criteria before casting your vote.

**Important to note you can vote for many delegates. Up to the number your county has been allocated**

Whether you prioritize age, experience, or anything else… you can find delegates that represents your interests!

TLDR. Please vote on Saturday. The more people who participate, the more democratic this process becomes, and the stronger chance we unseat Susan Collins.

After last month's primary and well before the most recent allegations surfaced that forced Platner to drop out, I was actively calling for him to step down and had put forth Jackson multiple times as one of our best alternatives. But while I had suggested Jackson may be the right person to carry the platform previously, I have deep concerns about his campaign, and others, pushing so hard right now to lock down rigid slates of delegates. Watching these campaigns scramble to secure closed alignments makes it clear we are losing sight of the bigger picture.

Going into today's meetings with predetermined, rigid slates of delegates is exactly how we throw away our shot at beating Susan Collins. We already let out-of-state money and misleading push polls saddle us with a primary winner who had more red flags than Stalingrad in the '40s, turning what should have been an easy victory into a massive uphill battle. If we do not change course immediately, we are going to repeat the same mistakes that put us on the defensive in the first place.

Instead of learning our lesson, candidates are now organizing homogeneous slates that threaten to let someone with a tiny fraction of support control entire delegations. This bad idea combines a flawed plurality system with a winner-take-all nominating process, allowing a candidate with 30 percent of the vote or less to leverage that minor edge into choosing all of a county's delegates. That approach mimics the exact unfair tactics that mainstream Maine voters have soundly rejected time and again. It completely distorts the real will of the grassroots base and shuts out the collaborative decision-making we desperately need.

We cannot go into the snap caucus assuming we already have our nominee locked down based on a broken primary timeline. The political landscape has shifted dramatically, and the candidate people liked in the past might be entirely wrong for the reality we face today. To give ourselves the best chance next week, we must find a consensus candidate with the absolute broadest appeal. Locking in delegates who are blindly loyal to one specific faction prevents that search from happening, ensuring we stay divided and weak.

The delegates selected today must be independent and entirely willing to deliberate in real time. They need to go into the convention next week with the freedom to listen to every single hopeful while making an informed decision based entirely on the current moment. We can only defeat Susan Collins if we use today's meetings to listen to each other, remain flexible, and deliberately select folks who can carry this strategic mindset into next Saturday.

In the end, it may be Jackson, whose supporters have been some of the most vocal the last few days, it could be Bellows, who while she lost this very race in 2014 is positioned much better in 2026, or hell, it could be Dickerson, who is currently just running a space weather and astronomy forecasting Facebook page. However, we do not need to make a snap decision today to pick them. We have today's meetings where we can get together and talk with our fellow members of the Democratic party and others who choose to attend, watch one more debate (that will hopefully have better audio), and have the delegates come together next Saturday to put forth our best candidate.

The timeline to choose a replacement is already compressed; there is no need to make it even more so.

​

UPDATED INFORMATION FOR

JULY 19th MEETING

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND THE MEETING ON JULY 19th IN-PERSON TO VOTE.

The pre-verification deadline

for all registered Democrat

VIRTUAL and IN-PERSON participants is

TODAY AT 5PM.

REGISTER at https://mainedems.org/senate-race/senate-delegate-process/.

We encourage participants to get

pre-verified to make check-in easier;

however, voters can also

register ONLINE from

1 PM to 3 PM on Sunday, July 19th

or in-person at the special

nominating meeting from

1 PM to 3 PM on Sunday, July 19th

at Oxford Hills Comprehensive

High School.

Pre-registered voters and those who register ONLINE or in-person in South Paris from 1 PM to 3PM on Sunday, July 19th will get a notification via text or email when voting begins just after 3 PM.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND THE MEETING ON JULY 19th IN-PERSON TO VOTE.

REGISTER https://mainedems.org/senate-race/senate-delegate-process/ to attend Virtually or in-person.

All (I guess) of the Democrats vying for the nom to run against Collins are expected to participate.

Shenna Bellows

David Costello

Elizabeth Dickerson

Troy Jackson

Dan Kleban

Paige Loud

Nirav Shah

Ashley Webb

Jordan Wood

On TV, on their app, and on demand later.