What to know about Troy Jackson, the Democratic frontrunner for Maine Senate

Two rivals dropped out on the same Sunday and both landed on the word "electable" to explain why Troy Jackson is now the guy. That's not really an endorsement of Jackson's ideas. It's a coronation dressed up as a primary. When a party clears the field this fast and this cleanly, it usually means the people writing the checks decided the outcome before most voters had a chance to weigh in.

Jackson has a real record from his years in the state senate, and Maine voters deserve a real conversation about it, not a consolidation exercise dressed up as democracy. Dan Kleban and Nirav Shah didn't lose to him in a vote. They just decided not to compete. That's their right, but it should make Mainers ask what exactly they were told, and by whom, that made continuing to run seem pointless.

The bigger story here is what this means for Susan Collins. A united Democratic front, built early and without the mess of an actual contest, is a signal that national Democrats think this seat is winnable and are moving fast to avoid a bruising primary that could hand Collins an easy contrast. That's smart politics on their part. It's also worth Maine voters noticing that the party establishment already picked its guy for them, weeks before they were supposed to.

We'd just say this: electability is a bet, not a fact. Democrats are betting big on Jackson before anyone outside Augusta has really vetted him statewide. If that bet is wrong, there won't be a backup plan, because there won't be anyone left on the ballot to turn to.