Democrats thought their Maine nightmare ended the day Graham Platner finally pulled the plug on his scandal-plagued Senate campaign. The party breathed a collective sigh of relief, convinced the worst was behind them, and the path to unseating Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was suddenly clear. But the man poised to take Platner's place carries baggage of his own, and the stories now trickling out sound awfully familiar. Did Maine Democrats trade one disaster for another?
When Platner dropped out, you could practically hear the champagne corks popping among the Democrat establishment. His never-ending scandals were going to cost Democrats that seat, and everyone knew it. If Democrats want any shot at taking back the Senate, they have to oust Collins, and Platner was dragging that dream down with him every day he stayed in the race.
So what did Maine Democrats do with their second chance? Well, with the party rallying behind Troy Jackson, it once again stands on the verge of nominating a socialist with serious character flaws to run for U.S. Senate.
New details about Jackson's volatile leadership style paint an ugly picture. Colleagues describe a man prone to sudden outbursts who threw water bottles, banged on tables, and screamed and cursed at the people around him. He berated colleagues to the point of bullying. He clashed frequently with women who said his behavior made them "nervous" and worried to even be in the same room with him.
Think about that for a second. This is the man Democrats want to send to Washington as the face of their party in Maine… instead of Platner. It’s like they learned nothing at all.
And it gets worse for them, because the alarm bells are ringing on their own side. Even left-wing media outlets see Jackson as a problem. NBC News reported that Jackson's "sudden rise in Maine invites scrutiny of his past and his vulnerabilities." The Washington Post noted that the Democrat set to replace Platner "led state Senate with a temper." CNN reported that the "frontrunner faces scrutiny over alleged anger outbursts." Politico’s assessment was no better, reporting that Maine Democrats "sweat Troy Jackson despite dominant victory.”
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Meanwhile, the usual suspects are already falling in line. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who stood behind Platner even after sexual abuse allegations became public, has thrown his support behind Jackson. So has Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The same people who vouched for the last trainwreck are now vouching for this one, and they expect voters to trust their judgment.
Good luck with that.
The question now is whether the rest of the D.C. Democrats who rallied around Platner will embrace Jackson or keep their distance to avoid the political fallout. Either choice carries a cost. Embrace him, and they own every ugly story that surfaces between now and Election Day. (There may be a few.) He may not have a Nazi tattoo like Platner, but it sounds like he’s got other issues. The other option, of course, is to snub him, but they risk deflating their own base's enthusiasm in November in such a must-win race.
"Democrats have a lose-lose decision between endorsing another volatile socialist or cutting their losses and bailing on Maine," RNC National Press Secretary Natalie Baldassarre said. "Either way, Maine Democrats own this mess, and voters will hold them accountable in November."
She's right. And as more troubling stories trickle out, a bigger question looms over this race: how well does the public really know Troy Jackson? Mainers learned the hard way what happens when you prop up an obviously flawed candidate, and they’re on the verge of propping up another.
They’ll never learn.
