Maine state Rep. James White (R-Guilford) said Friday that Troy Jackson may not be legally eligible to become the Democrat replacement nominee for U.S. Senate, arguing the former gubernatorial candidate cannot use a party vacancy process to reach the ballot after losing a different statewide race in June.
In a letter dated Friday, White asked Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to investigate the question before Saturday’s Democrat convention in Bangor selects a replacement for former nominee Graham Platner. The Maine Wire reported the request hours before delegates were set to gather.
“The vacancy process exists to fill an unexpected vacancy, not to provide a second opportunity for a candidate who already sought and lost another office during the same election process,” White wrote.
The Guilford Republican pointed to Title 21-A of Maine law. He said one provision bars a person from filing as a candidate for more than one office at any election. Another requires a party committee filling a vacancy to choose a “qualified person.” White contended Jackson may not meet that standard.
White also cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Storer v. Brown, which held that a primary is “an integral part of the entire election process.” He said that reading gives full effect to the state’s decision to bar candidates from seeking more than one office “at any election.”
“The integrity of Maine’s elections depends on the faithful application of the law, not on whether bending the rules may benefit one political party or another,” White wrote.
According to the Maine Wire, Maine has no explicit “sore loser” statute barring a defeated primary candidate from later appearing on the general election ballot for another office. White contends existing Title 21-A provisions, read together, create that prohibition.
Jackson is a fifth-generation logger and former Maine Senate president. He finished third in the state’s Democrat gubernatorial primary in June. He emerged as the overwhelming favorite to replace Platner after his rivals dropped out and endorsed him.
The challenge comes as Jackson closes in on a nomination handed out by party delegates rather than primary voters. Platner withdrew July 10 after a former girlfriend accused him of sexual assault, an allegation he denied. A report also described Jackson berating women lawmakers and throwing a water bottle during his years leading the state Senate. Democrats are moving to install a nominee chosen by convention delegates in place of one picked by voters.
Bellows, the Democrat secretary of state who barred President Donald Trump from Maine’s 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment, would decide the challenge. She was a candidate in the same Senate race until dropping out Sunday.
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