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Graham Platner’s backing of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson and two of his opponents followed a monthslong push from unions and a conference call between the U.S. Senate candidate and the trio trying to replace Gov. Janet Mills.
Platner’s announcement of his rank order emerged from an event in Ellsworth last week. The video was posted online by an AFL-CIO spokesperson. But it was carefully planned and came after the call between Platner, Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree, according to three sources familiar with the talks.
The strategic play from Platner brought a negotiated peace among the three most progressive candidates looking to blunt frontrunner Nirav Shah. It also assuaged members of his union base who were pushing Platner for a Jackson endorsement after Jackson’s backing of Platner went unrequited for weeks until the alliance emerged.
Maine’s labor unions have been “as or more aggressive than ever” in rallying behind candidates focused on the needs of the working class after helping Platner rise from obscurity to become the presumptive nominee against U.S. Sen. Susan Collins following Gov. Janet Mills’ April suspension of her campaign.
That included pressing Platner, who was “navigating interesting waters” at the outset of his campaign, to support Jackson, Shedlock said. He credited the Senate candidate, Jackson and their teams for sparking “thoughtful” conversations to make the endorsements happen.
“You can’t talk about a movement without being very clear about the people that are going to be a major part,” Shedlock said.
The three sources on the talks between the campaigns spoke on conditions of anonymity to candidly describe them. One said Platner asked the candidates to consider unifying earlier this month, and that a three-way endorsement from Sierra Club Maine in April had already kicked off an open conversation between the campaigns. Spokespeople for Platner, Jackson and Pingree did not respond to a request for comment.
Bellows is “proud to be on a team including Graham Platner pushing Maine in a more progressive direction,” a spokesperson said.
Platner’s backing offered different things to each candidate. Jackson clinched Platner’s first choice ahead of a pair of rallies alongside Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Memorial Day weekend. Bellows has some union support and got endorsed with Platner by the progressive Maine People’s Alliance. Pingree has environmental groups and Mills’ endorsement.
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The three candidates made the alliance official last week, joining Platner on Portland’s Western Promenade in an event that made explicit what had previously seemed like a loose arrangement. Bellows and Pingree invoked the alliance at a party-organized debate on Thursday in Portland.
At the Tuesday event, Bellows brushed aside questions about whether the alliance was aimed at denying Shah a first-round majority, saying the candidates were united around progressive change. Jackson drew a contrast with Shah on economic issues, and Pingree pointed to her record on health care, housing and the environment.
All three said they would support the Democratic nominee whether it was one of them, Shah or former energy executive Angus King III. Shah, Maine’s former public health chief, said Tuesday that he respects his aligned rivals but argues his campaign is more results-oriented. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The alliance’s stakes became clearer Wednesday, when a University of New Hampshire poll showed Jackson tied with Shah at 28% among likely Democratic primary voters — the first time any candidate had come within striking distance of Shah in the first round. Bellows and Pingree received 13% and 12%, respectively.
The poll underscored the importance of ranked-choice dynamics. Bellows led as the top second choice at 29%, followed by Pingree at 23% and Shah at 20%. Jackson was at 14%, a potential liability given that his allies in the race could funnel second-choice votes past him.
“I did not vote for these candidates because we are endorsed by the same people,” Platner said at the Tuesday event, which he left without taking questions from reporters. “But I think those endorsements reflect our shared values, our shared politics, and our shared vision for rebuilding the power of working Mainers.”
