By Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, is facing renewed scrutiny after a Politico report revealed that he once endorsed armed resistance in now-deleted Reddit posts.
A former Marine and current oyster farmer, Platner wrote in 2018 that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice” and advised that anyone who “expect[s] to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle” should “do some reading of history.”
Platner confirmed authoring the comments but distanced himself from their tone and intent. “As I told CNN, I was fucking 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,” he 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 shitposter.”
According to CNN, Platner was active in the r/SocialistRA subreddit and similar left-leaning communities roughly five years ago. Posting under the handle “P-Hustle,” he referred to police as “all bastards,” described himself as a communist, and mocked rural white Americans as bigoted and unintelligent. He deleted those posts in August—just as his campaign launched—calling the move an effort to “move away from a difficult period” in his life.
When Platner entered the race, The New York Times cast him as a political newcomer focused on improving conditions for Maine’s workers while challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Yet his digital footprint paints a picture of a more hard-edged activist than the moderate reformer he presents on the trail.
Platner’s campaign team includes Democratic strategist Morris Katz, who is simultaneously advising New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, noted The Daily Caller. His first campaign ad was produced by Fight Agency, a progressive media firm that has worked with figures like Mamdani, Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
His senior aide, Joe Calvello, also brings ties to the party’s national establishment, having previously worked for Hillary Clinton, Sanders, Planned Parenthood, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The controversy has revealed that Democrats don’t actually mean it when they claim to condemn violent rhetoric. For example, Rep. Ro Khanna, who has endorsed Platner, downplayed the uproar, framing it as an internal power struggle. Khanna said the attacks were less about ideology and more about “party insiders trying to kneecap an outsider.”
Let's be clear. The DSCC leaked this to try to destroy Platner the day their hand-picked candidate entered the race.
I respect Platner's journey & the man he is today. I reject the politics of personal destruction.
I stand by my endorsement. I won't cower to the establishment. https://t.co/StCGzdoS9b
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 18, 2025
Khanna had a different opinion of this kind of rhetoric just a few days earlier when he claimed that Republicans should be condemning random young political operatives for a revealed group text message joking about Hitler and comparing it to the Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney Jay Jones, who claimed he hoped that the children of Republicans would be murdered.
Why can’t we denounce both? https://t.co/RhYEn0OUP1
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 15, 2025
Whether Maine voters agree remains to be seen, but the deleted posts have ensured that Platner’s past will shadow his campaign well into election season. And if more of their preferred candidates are shown to be hiding violent tendencies, well, that’s just something we’re all going to be asked to accept as the Democratic Party becomes more radicalized–though that doesn’t mean we have to or should.
[Read More: DNC Chair Hates His Job Apparently]
