Well, Democrats in Maine really do have some special candidates to choose from. It took months but they finally got rid of Graham Platner after women came forward and accused him of abusive behavior and rape. Democrats finally decided that was a bad look and now they've had to rush to replace him with someone more agreeable. As of this weekend it seems clear that person is Troy Jackson.

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Troy Jackson has effectively secured the Democratic nomination in the crucial Maine Senate race, winning the support of a majority of the state delegates who will officially nominate a candidate next weekend.

While they are not legally bound to support him, more than two-thirds of the 601 delegates have committed to voting for Jackson at that statewide convention. Jackson dominated the county-level meetings this weekend that selected those delegates, with his rivals falling far behind — and his two most organized competitors, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former state public health official Nirav Shah, dropped out of the race on Sunday.

So who is Troy Jackson? Well, as I already suggested here, he might have some problems of his own. And now that his selection is all but assured, the Washington Post has finally gotten around to reporting that he's a real jerk who doesn't get along with women.

Jackson led the state Senate with a confrontational style, at times berating colleagues who disagreed with him, former colleagues said. And his intensity often veered into behavior that people working in Maine politics at the time characterized as bullying, given that he was the most powerful Democrat in the Senate.

Jackson worked with numerous women and frequently clashed with them. At the end of his tenure, the five other top leaders of the state House and Senate were women, as was the governor, Democrat Janet Mills.

One person who participated in meetings with Jackson at the time said they felt “nervous” and worried to be in the room with him, because his outbursts could escalate so quickly.

“It was very aggressive,” the person said. “It’s one thing to be screaming when you’re just mad about the world or sad about the world. But his screaming felt like intentional intimidation. So you would feel like then, what else is he going to do?”

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After months of defending Platner, the defenses of Jackson sound really familiar. I think they borrowed this from the creep in Forrest Gump: "It's just this war..."

McCollister, the Jackson adviser, said the former Senate president had “heated, often two-way disputes” over legislation he viewed as crucial for the state of Maine.

“Troy Jackson is passionate and deeply invested in the people and policies he advocates for,” McCollister said.

He just cares so deeply about the issues. And so if he has to shout at the women around him until they are afraid of him, that's what he's willing to do. Here's how he dealt with the house speaker, a black woman.

Jackson banged on the table, cursed and then got close to Talbot Ross’s face after he said he was done talking to the leader, according to the two people. Talbot Ross, a civil rights advocate and the first Black woman elected to the Maine legislature, kicked him out of her office.

But his best known fight was with a female state senator.

Jackson and Sanborn were on opposing sides of a bill aimed at lowering prescription drug prices — Jackson supported the bill, while Sanborn argued it was unconstitutional and would be struck down by the courts. As one meeting wrapped up, Jackson grew angry with Sanborn and confronted her, said three people in the room that day and multiple people briefed on the fight. At one point, he threw a water bottle in anger.

“He was an inch from her nose, screaming and hollering and haranguing her,” said one of Jackson’s former legislative colleagues who was in the room and did not see any physical contact.

Multiple former lawmakers recalled that Sanborn left the Senate that day and did not return for several days.

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So there you go. Democrats have gone from an accused rapist with a Nazi tattoo to a guy who loses his temper and screams at women an inch from their face. Great job, Maine progressives. 

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