PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday endorsed Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Troy Jackson, just two days after the state’s party used a hastily called nominating process to name him as the replacement candidate in a race seen as crucial for control of the chamber.
Jackson secured the Democrats’ nomination on Saturday to run against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Party delegates held a special nominating convention for the post after Graham Platner, who won the June primary, withdrew from the race in the wake of sexual assault accusations that he has denied.
The last-minute scramble for a new candidate in a top-tier race was reminiscent of how Harris ascended to the Democratic presidential nomination two years ago.
She became the party’s nominee in August 2024 after President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection campaign following a disastrous debate performance against then-former President Donald Trump. Trump would go on to defeat Harris, winning every presidential battleground state.
In a fundraising email to supporters Monday, Harris said she relates to the hurried nature of Jackson’s candidacy and called on Democrats to support him.
“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 the email.
Democrats are counting on a win in Maine to have a chance to take back control of the Senate. They also need to win three other Republican seats and to hold all the seats they currently have.
Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former president of the Maine Senate, initially ran for governor during this year’s primary. He lost that race but quickly became the party’s preferred candidate to replace Platner, with whom he had campaigned before Platner’s candidacy fell apart.
Representatives for Jackson’s campaign and the Maine Democratic Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not clear whether Jackson had approached Harris for an endorsement or her statement of support was unsolicited.
Jackson’s campaign said in a statement earlier Monday that it is working on making up a fundraising deficit against Collins, who has raised more than $16 million. Jackson has raised $2 million since securing the nomination, the campaign said.
Jackson “is harnessing historic energy across the state to deliver the change Mainers have been demanding over Collins’ three-decade career in Washington,” the campaign said in a statement.
Republicans in the state were swift to mock Harris’ endorsement and drew comparisons to the fact that neither Harris nor Jackson won a party primary before becoming the nominee.
“She knows exactly what he’s going through,” said Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins.
Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press
