With Graham Platner facing mounting pressure to end his Senate campaign after rape allegations surfaced Monday, longtime Maine Democrat Troy Jackson filed paperwork Tuesday positioning himself to enter the U.S. Senate race should the Democratic nomination become available.

Prominent Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have withdrawn their support for Platner and urged him to end his campaign. Platner has denied the allegations as «categorically false» and has remained in the race.

Under Maine law, Platner has until Monday, July 13, 2026, to withdraw if Democrats hope to replace him on the November ballot. If he steps aside before the deadline, the state Democratic Party will have until July 27, 2026, to choose a new nominee.

Jackson, who lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary just weeks ago, signaled his interest in the Senate race by filing a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He later took to social media to condemn the allegations against Platner while emphasizing that he has not yet decided whether to seek the nomination.

PLATNER CAMPAIGN PUTTING ‘THUMB ON SCALE’ TO INFLUENCE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT, MAINE DEM ALLEGES

«While I haven’t made any final decisions yet, I’m deeply humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received,» Jackson wrote. «I’m currently weighing the best path forward to support our progressive movement and the working class political revolution Mainers are fighting for.»

Jackson and Platner ran closely aligned progressive campaigns and appeared together at campaign events throughout the 2026 election cycle. Both embraced a progressive platform and earned the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participated in a television interview on May 1, 2026, in Portland, Maine, following a campaign event with the Maine AFL-CIO. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

Following the allegations against Platner, however, Our Revolution — the progressive political organization Sanders founded after his 2016 presidential campaign — withdrew its endorsement of Platner and instead backed Jackson, whom it had also endorsed during his gubernatorial campaign.

«We have days, not weeks, to make sure a real progressive is on this ballot,» Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said in a statement. «If we do not organize now, we risk watching the Democratic establishment handing Maine a corporate placeholder while the party that just got outvoted decides it knows better. We refuse to let that happen.»

Jackson’s ties to Sanders stretch back more than a decade. He was one of the few Democratic National Committee superdelegates to endorse Sanders over Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary and later served as Sanders’ Maine political director, introducing him at campaign rallies across the state. Sanders later returned the favor, endorsing Jackson’s gubernatorial campaign and appearing alongside him on the campaign trail.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAINE SENATE RACE IS TIGHT, WITH CONCERNS ABOUT BOTH CANDIDATES

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stands with Maine gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, left, and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner during a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine on May 24, 2026, in Orono, Maine. Sanders backed both candidates during the 2026 election cycle. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

«Fighting for the working class of Maine is not something new for Troy,» Sanders said during a campaign rally. «That’s what he has done for his entire life as a logger and as a member of the Maine state legislature. Troy knows what’s going on with the working class of Maine because he’s part of that working class.»

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A fifth-generation logger and one of Maine’s best-known labor Democrats, Jackson spent more than two decades in the state Legislature, including six years as president of the Maine Senate before leaving the post in 2024.

During his gubernatorial campaign, he ran on a platform that included universal child care, Medicare for All and the creation of a Department of Affordable Housing. He also secured endorsements from more than 20 labor unions, cementing his reputation as a working-class progressive.

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Despite his progressive politics, Jackson has repeatedly won elections in one of Maine’s most Republican regions. He represented northern Aroostook County, a largely rural district that has consistently supported President Donald Trump by double-digit margins in recent presidential elections. Jackson has argued that his success stems from focusing on working-class economic issues rather than partisan labels.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson for comment.

El gobierno libanés ha planteado una exigencia formal a Israel antes de acudir a la próxima ronda de negociaciones: que sus fuerzas se retiren de las dos “zonas piloto” contempladas en el acuerdo marco firmado el 26 de junio en Washington. La condición, comunicada al Departamento de Estado según una fuente diplomática libanesa citada por AFP, convierte lo que debía ser el punto de partida de la implementación en una disputa previa que amenaza con bloquear el proceso diplomático.

La elección de Roma como sede generó fricciones desde el primer momento. Israel anunció el martes el cambio sin notificar a la delegación libanesa, lo que provocó el rechazo inicial de Beirut. El presidente Joseph Aoun aceptó finalmente tras recibir garantías de Washington de que mantendría “el mismo nivel de implicación en las negociaciones y la misma política en la gestión de los contactos” que en las cinco rondas anteriores. La fuente señaló que Israel accedió al traslado para “reducir la presión” ejercida por Washington durante las negociaciones previas.

El acuerdo marco suscrito el 26 de junio por Estados Unidos, Israel y el Líbano establece el desarme de Hezbollah y la retirada progresiva de las fuerzas israelíes a medida que el ejército regular libanés se despliega en zonas designadas. Sin embargo, el texto no fija ningún calendario de retirada, y funcionarios israelíes han reiterado que sus fuerzas permanecerán en una “zona de seguridad” de diez kilómetros mientras Hezbollah siga armado. Esa asimetría —presión inmediata sobre Beirut para desarmar al grupo, plazo indefinido para el repliegue israelí— concentra las principales críticas al acuerdo.

Israel continúa realizando ataques en el sur del Líbano pese al marco acordado. El miércoles dos personas murieron en un bombardeo en la zona, según AFP. El presidente Aoun denunció que los ataques sostenidos socavan los esfuerzos por alcanzar una solución duradera y pidió a Washington que presione a Tel Aviv para que respete el alto el fuego. Su visita a la Casa Blanca, prevista para antes de fin de mes —los medios apuntan al 21 de julio—, será el momento de mayor presión diplomática sobre el compromiso estadounidense con la retirada israelí.

Hezbollah, que no participó en las negociaciones, rechaza el acuerdo en su totalidad. Su secretario general, Naim Qassem, reiteró ese rechazo el miércoles durante los actos previos al entierro del líder supremo iraní Ali Khamenei, fallecido el 28 de febrero en ataques conjuntos de Estados Unidos e Israel sobre Irán. “Ni una sola cláusula del acuerdo pasará”, afirmó Qassem. El proceso de duelo en Teherán añade una dimensión simbólica al momento: Khamenei fue el principal respaldo externo de Hezbollah, y su muerte coincide con un período en que Irán había exigido que el Líbano quedara incluido en su propio acuerdo con Washington, algo que Beirut rechazó al optar por una vía bilateral.

El antecedente histórico más citado por analistas es el acuerdo del 17 de mayo de 1983, que fijó un calendario de retirada israelí del Líbano pero lo supeditó a la salida de las tropas sirias, condición que Damasco nunca cumplió. Israel permaneció en el sur dieciséis años más. El acuerdo marco de 2026 replica esa lógica al vincular el repliegue israelí al desarme de Hezbollah, una condición que Beirut no puede garantizar por sí solo. Si Roma no produce avances concretos sobre plazos, ese precedente pesará sobre cada ronda que venga después.

As President Donald Trump voiced growing frustration Wednesday with Iranian negotiators, accusing them of lying and cheating, the latest escalation has exposed an even more fundamental problem for Washington: whether the officials at the negotiating table have the power to deliver an agreement — or whether anyone in Tehran does.

«I don’t know if we’re going to have a deal. We may just do it without a deal,» Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara. «These people, they lie and they cheat.»

But Trump’s frustration with Iran’s negotiators is only part of the problem. Since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it has become increasingly unclear who in Tehran has the authority to make — and enforce — an agreement.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS ‘OVER’ AFTER IRANIAN ATTACKS TRIGGER MASSIVE US RESPONSE

Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father as supreme leader after the elder Khamenei was killed in the opening U.S.-Israeli attacks on Feb. 28. But Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since the attack, and U.S. assessments cited by Reuters have described authority as dispersed among senior Revolutionary Guard commanders and powerful civilian officials.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC commander who led Iran’s negotiating delegation, has emerged as one of the country’s most powerful surviving political figures.

Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, said power inside the Islamic Republic has fractured since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the country’s dominant force.

«The person who is negotiating with the U.S. is not necessarily someone who is endorsed by the others,» Zand told Fox News Digital.

She described Ghalibaf as one power center competing with figures including IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi, Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Vahidi controls the IRGC’s overall military structure, while Qaani oversees its external operations and relationships with Iran-aligned armed groups across the region. Zarif, by contrast, remains closely identified with the more accommodationist political camp that previously championed negotiations and sanctions relief.

«The hardliners, in terms of their political presence, have also been pushed aside,» Zand said. «So really, it’s the IRGC. And within the IRGC, whoever signs the deal is not necessarily signing on behalf of everybody else. They’re signing on behalf of themselves.»

Her assessment reflects a central problem facing Washington: Iran’s negotiators, political institutions and military commanders may not share the same interpretation of what was agreed — or the same willingness to implement it.

US CLAWS BACK KEY CONCESSION TO IRAN AFTER FRESH ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)

Yet Trump’s declaration does not necessarily mean diplomacy has been permanently abandoned.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the clearest evidence would be the restoration of the U.S. blockade, the introduction of additional military forces or a new round of major economic sanctions.

Otherwise, he said, Trump may continue operating in the «gray zone» between negotiations and open war while keeping his options available.

The more difficult question is why Tehran would jeopardize sanctions relief and risk overwhelming American firepower when its military has already been severely degraded.

Ben Taleblu said Iran’s leaders appear to believe escalation is essential to the survival of the Islamic Republic.

«This is a regime that is weaker, but lethal, and less capable, but more confident,» he said. Iran’s leadership believes its adversaries have vulnerable economic and military interests throughout the Gulf, he added, while the regime itself is more willing to accept destruction.

People hold placards with an image of Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei with late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a gathering to support Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026.  (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) Via Reuters)

«Their survival and their military success and their political success runs through more, not less, escalation,» he said.

Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, agrees the escalation is deliberate, aimed at turning regional instability into leverage.

«By targeting commercial shipping and Arab states, the regime is signaling that it can hold global energy flows and America’s regional partners hostage to extract leverage, distract from its domestic crisis, and test U.S. red lines,» Daftari told Fox News Digital.

She said Tehran is betting that Washington and its Arab partners will be unwilling to sustain another war and will ultimately back down first.

«The regime’s core weapon is time,» Daftari said. «By escalating in the Persian Gulf and attacking ships and Arab states, they are creating rolling crises that raise the cost of confronting them while they consolidate power at home.»

Daftari argued that the strategy reflects the Islamic Republic’s longstanding character rather than a temporary response to pressure.

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Firefighters work in the aftermath of Iranian drone attacks, at a location given as Bahrain (Reuters)

«This regime was never designed to be reformed or softened,» she said. «What they are showing us now is exactly who they intend to remain: a hardline, revolutionary regime determined to stay in power.»

But determining how that strategy is translated into action is more complicated. Authority in Tehran appears divided, raising questions about who is directing the escalation and whether the officials negotiating with Washington can commit the broader security establishment.

That division is already visible in the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

A Middle Eastern source familiar with the issue told Fox News Digital that Tehran and Washington are operating from fundamentally different readings of Clause five of the memorandum. The publicly released text says Iran will use its «best efforts» to arrange safe commercial passage through the strait without charge for 60 days, while removing military and technical obstacles and conducting demining operations. It does not expressly state that foreign vessels must obtain Iran’s approval or use routes designated by Tehran.

According to the source, Iran interprets that language as giving it responsibility — and therefore authority — to coordinate shipping and determine the routes vessels use during the interim period. Washington’s interpretation is that Iran agreed to lift its maritime blockade and fully reopen the international waterway.

When the two sides have different interpretations of a single page, how do they intend to write a treaty, the source said.

Iran views control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz as one of its last major sources of leverage over the United States, Gulf governments and the global economy, the source said, «That is the heart of the matter.»

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The truck carrying the coffins of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family makes its way through mourners during the funeral procession toward Azadi Tower in Tehran, Iran, on Monday, July 6, 2026.   (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Taken together, the experts’ assessments suggest Tehran is unlikely to face a simple choice between surrendering to Trump’s pressure and returning to negotiations. Ben Taleblu said the regime believes its survival depends on «more, not less, escalation,» while Daftari said it is deliberately «playing out the clock» by creating repeated regional crises. That raises the prospect that, even if Iranian officials return to the table, the IRGC could continue targeting commercial shipping, U.S. interests and American allies to preserve its leverage and strengthen its position inside Iran.