LEWISTON — Tori Leigh took the microphone and asked Troy Jackson the question that’s on the minds of some of the people who supported Graham Platner’s ill-fated bid for U.S. Senate.

“I notice that you keep referring to ‘our movement’ that we built,” said Leigh, a 36-year-old unenrolled voter from Auburn. “Honestly, it feels disingenuous because the movement that was building was built by someone else. Why should frustrated Mainers like me trust you as the person to take over leadership of that?”

A slight hush fell over the friendly crowd of roughly 300 at the Franco Center in Lewiston. Jackson, hosting his campaign’s first town hall event with voters, conceded it was “a great question.”

“You are right. I didn’t build this movement. I’ve been saying that all along,” Jackson said. “This isn’t about Troy Jackson. But I don’t even think this is about Graham. I think it’s about people across this state that know there’s something fundamentally wrong with the way things are going.”

The exchange shows how Platner looms over Jackson’s closely watched U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins — one that could help determine control over the upper chamber. It also illustrates the challenge Jackson faces as he tries to motivate Platner supporters still stinging from his inglorious end.

A key part of Platner’s rise was his town hall events. He held more than 80 of them across the state as a way to organize and galvanize volunteers, who seemed to hang on every word.

This week, Jackson is trying to tap into that energy, holding a series of get-togethers with voters. He was in Lewiston on Tuesday; he’ll be in Gorham on Thursday and Jay on Saturday.

While turnout at Jackson’s first event was impressive in its own right, the audience was about half of the size of the one Platner drew last October when he filled the both the main hall and a basement overflow space.

Platner captivated the crowd with his remarks about the history of activism and organized labor. And he energized them with his broadsides against the political establishment, drawing cheers and jeers along the way.

Jackson, meanwhile, was more subdued, giving his opening speech from behind a lectern rather than roaming the stage. While he received a standing ovation for saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be “eliminated” and loud applause to his response to Leigh’s question, some attendees noticed the difference in reactions and enthusiasm.

Among them was Cameron Samuelson, 40, of Auburn. She attended Platner’s town hall last fall and left energized and optimistic. She’s excited to vote for Jackson, but she didn’t have high expectations for his town hall event.

“Honestly, I was worried it would be even flatter,” Samuelson said. “I still feel nervous. I feel like there’s work left to do.”

Did she feel that way after leaving Platner’s event?

“No,” she said.

David Farmer, a senior adviser to Jackson, wrote in an email that Jackson supporters are enthusiastic about his run as evidenced by his promising early fundraising numbers and large number of volunteers.

“If we’re going to talk about enthusiasm and accountability, maybe start with the senator who has spent a quarter-century avoiding a room full of Mainers asking her unvetted questions,” Farmer said. (Collins’ team has noted that the senator often takes questions from Mainers, but her opponents have argued that these appearances do not constitute convening a town hall.)

Platner’s meteoric rise from an obscure oyster farmer from Sullivan to a national progressive hero, whose surprising bid to unseat Collins landed him on the cover of Time magazine, came crashing down to a scandal-ridden end in July.

Democrats replaced him with Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash. Since then, the former Maine Senate president has been trying to convince skeptics that he’s worthy of the same energy and devotion as his predecessor.

Jackson may need every ounce of progressive enthusiasm he can muster if he’s to unseat Collins, a five-term incumbent. His late start to the race has left him badly out-fundraised, and polls show he’s in a tight race.

But he’s also an undeniably different candidate than Platner. Jackson served two decades in Augusta; Platner was a political newcomer. Jackson won many of his races in a conservative-leaning state Senate district; polls showed Platner was struggling to win over political converts.

Voters noted the differences Tuesday. A former Platner supporter said he was disappointed that Jackson did not discuss Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which Platner routinely called a genocide to the delight of his progressive followers.

“I believe (Jackson’s) rhetoric needs to be stronger for his campaign to be stronger,” said Micah, a 20-year-old unenrolled voter from Lewiston who would only provide his first name.

Jackson’s website, however, describes Israel’s actions as a genocide, while he opposes sending U.S. tax dollars to Israel’s military.

But for supporters like Colin Schlobohm, a 17-year-old from Greene who will be able to vote in his first election this fall, the stylistic differences are not important, since Jackson supports many of the same policies as Platner, including Medicare for All and embracing unions.

“Troy may not be the smoothest politician you’ve ever heard speaking, but I think he’s authentically himself,” said Schlobohm, whose father leads the Maine AFL-CIO. “I think if people listen to his message and really hear what he’s trying to say, that’s all that matters.”

Leigh, who questioned Jackson’s right to claim Platner’s movement, said she appreciated Jackson’s response, calling it genuine and humble.

“It felt like he did recognize and acknowledge where I was coming from,” she said. “He didn’t get defensive or hostile.”