Democrat Senate Candidate Called Himself a Communist, Made Racist and Anti-Cop Remarks in Resurfaced Reddit Posts
Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner is facing growing backlash after a series of disturbing Reddit posts resurfaced, revealing the Maine primary candidate once called himself a “communist,” disparaged white Americans, smeared police, and made racially insensitive and inflammatory comments over a span of years.
Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, is running in the Democratic primary against Maine Gov. Janet Mills. The winner will go on to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins in 2026.
But CNN’s KFile unearthed a trove of Reddit posts that could complicate Platner’s bid.
“I got older and became a communist,” Platner wrote in 2021 on Reddit’s “antiwork” forum. On another thread for Marine veterans, he described himself as a “vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist these days,” while noting that he “still got the guns though,” saying he didn’t trust “facsists [sic] these days.”
In another now-public post, Platner wrote, “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” referring to white Americans. He added, “Bastards. Cops are bastards. All of them, in fact.”
POLITICO reported that Platner also posted in 2018 that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice” and argued that owning a “good semi-automatic rifle” was necessary to “fight fascism.”
In 2013, he posted controversial comments related to sexual assault and rape in the military. In one post, Platner wrote, “Rape is a real thing. If you’re so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear you’d think you might not get blacked out f***ed up around people you aren’t comfortable with.”
He went further in another post, saying, “Anyone who actually thinks the military is purposefully covering up rape to save the career of some god damn [captain], is clearly both an idiot and junior enough in rank or life experience to think it matters.”
The Bangor Daily News uncovered additional posts from 2013 in which Platner made racially charged generalizations about Black customers while working as a bartender. “It always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,” he wrote. “Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?”
Platner responded to the backlash by telling POLITICO that the comments don’t reflect who he is today.
“As I told CNN, I was fing around on the internet at a time when I felt lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die,” Platner said. “I made dumb jokes and picked fights. But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired sposter.”
Republicans aren’t buying the excuse. Samantha Cantrell, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, blasted the Democrat’s past statements.
“Graham Platner is a communist who supports violence against Republicans to promote his radical agenda. These posts are not just him messing around on the internet as he is trying to claim, they paint a very dark picture of a candidate not fit for office,” she said.
So far, Platner has not addressed whether he intends to remain in the race as pressure mounts.