The Maine Democratic Party has taken down the profiles of Ashley Webb, a transgender candidate attempting to replace Graham Platner in the state Senate, along with other contenders, leaving only two candidates eligible for the upcoming U.S. Senate nominating convention.
Previously, there were multiple candidates listed on the Maine Democratic Party’s website, but now only two remain.
“The nomination filing period closed on July 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. After that, the Maine Democratic Party verified the submitted signatures and qualifications of each candidate,” the site states. Currently, just Sandra Pelletier and Troy Jackson are acknowledged. If you search for someone like Ashley Webb, you won’t find it.
“The following candidates are eligible to participate in the Maine Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nominating convention,” reads the statement, listing only Jackson and Pelletier.
To qualify, candidates needed to be registered voters in Maine, submit a statement of intent to seek the Democratic nomination to the Maine Democratic Party Chairman, and provide at least 500 valid signatures from registered Democratic voters as of the June 9, 2026, primary election, according to the party’s guidelines.
Yet, Mr. Webb did participate as a candidate and joined a debate, where discussions about his qualifications became quite a topic.
Webb, identifying as a transgender woman and intersex, gained attention after a Reddit post revealed some controversial views. He announced his Senate campaign on Reddit as sparky603 and spent time discussing his self-described intersex condition, mentioning that his karyotype is XY, indicating he is biologically male. Still, he asserted, “I feel pretty positive that I am the XX type, so please accept it.” He mentioned having an organ but questioned if it’s, you know, some sort of tumor growing in that area. He also claimed that he experiences ovulation and that his periods occur from his rectum.
“Every month, when the pain gets severe, I feel discomfort on both sides and above my bladder,” he stated:
If there’s no suitable hole, find one of the two exits. The Chinese guy got lucky; his exit was his bladder, but I didn’t have that fortune. Mine was in the colon. Because every month, when this pain strikes, blood comes out from there.
Intersex individuals often aren’t diagnosed until their 20s. I didn’t receive a proper diagnosis then due to seeing doctors who preferred to prescribe painkillers rather than investigate the underlying issues.
That’s likely part of why there seems to be growing support for former Maine Senate President Jackson. He’s known for his passionate demeanor and has faced accusations of violence, such as once allegedly striking a female co-worker with a bottle. Even the Washington Post noted that Jackson is “a prominent Maine lawmaker currently running for the U.S. Senate,” who “once threw a water bottle during a meeting in frustration over his constituents’ votes.”
He reportedly yelled at another deputy and had a heated argument in a meeting with the speaker of the Maine State House, which led to him being removed from the meeting. Jackson’s temper has been noted as a defining trait in his leadership and raised as a concern among Democratic colleagues and the governor.
