A Democratic candidate vying for a Senate seat in Maine has found himself in hot water following the reemergence of controversial Reddit posts from his past. Graham Platner, 40, who is running against incumbent Republican Susan Collins, publicly expressed regret for his previous online remarks.

Platner’s campaign, which has earned a nod from Bernie Sanders due to its progressive stance, is now grappling with the fallout from posts made between 2013 and 2021. These posts reflect contentious views on issues such as sexual assault and race and include statements about law enforcement and references to Communist ideology. Notably, he criticized all police officers, calling them “bastards.”

In an exposé by The Washington Post, Platner—who served in both the Marine and Army—was found to have diminished the severity of sexual assault within the military. Writing under the pseudonym ‘P-Hustle,’ he dismissed concerns about military cover-ups of such incidents in a 2013 post.

“In today’s climate, where even a whisper of misconduct can topple a career,” Platner wrote, “believing that the military would systematically hide rape to protect someone’s career is naive and shows a lack of experience or understanding of military dynamics.”

‘In today’s current climate, when every whisper of a misplaced hand brings down a feature length film, anyone who actually thinks the military is purposefully covering up rape to save the career of some god d*** [captain], is clearly both an idiot and junior enough in rank or life experience to think it matters,’ he wrote in 2013. 

‘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***** up around people you aren’t comfortable with,’ he added in a separate post. 

He even referred to someone who shared a comic strip satirizing the difficulties of women reporting sexual assault in the military as ‘retarded.’

In a further investigation of his account, the Bangor Daily News reported he asked why ‘black people don’t tip’ in another thread. 

However, in 2020, when a poster wrote that rural white Americans ‘aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks,’ Platner responded: ‘Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are.’

Graham Platner (pictured), a Democrat running for Senate in Maine, released an emotional apology after offensive posts he made on Reddit resurfaced

Platner, 40, is challenging for the seat currently belonging to Republican Susan Collins and his left-wing campaign has scored him the endorsement of Bernie Sanders

In 2021, he wrote in response to the adage that people become more conservative as they age: ‘I got older and became a communist.’

In a different thread from the same year, one poster commented on a black lieutenant in the Army who was held a gun point and pepper sprayed by police during a traffic stop: ‘Bastards. Cops are bastars.’

Platner wrote: ‘All of them, in fact.’

The candidate, who was previously an oyster farmer, issued statements during the controversy denouncing many of these views, including that he was a Communist, that rural Americans were racist and his anti-police statements, he told CNN.

‘That was very much me f**king around the internet. I don’t want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment – or even frankly who I was in my best Internet comment. I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.’

However, as the offensive posts began to mount, Platner decided to release a 5-minute apology video on Friday to try and diffuse the outrage.

He said that as he looks back on the posts, many of which are now deleted, he sees ‘things that I absolutely do not agree with, I see words and statements that I abhor.’

Platner added, however, that he also sees ‘the trajectory of my life’ from a man who had gotten back from fighting if Afghanistan in 2011 and left the Army in 2012. 

Platner, a Marine and Army veteran, wrote under the name ‘P-Hustle’ downplaying sexual assault in the military

The candidate, who was previously an oyster farmer, issued statements during the controversy denouncing many of these views, including that he was a Communist, that rural Americans were racist and his anti-police statements

‘Some of the worst comments I made, the things I think are least defensible, come from that time.’ 

He blamed it on being in the infantry which he called a ‘very male-dominated place’ and pointed out that women weren’t allowed to fight in the infantry at that point. 

‘When I got out, I still had the crude humor, the dark feelings, the offensive language that really was a hallmark of the infantry when I was in it.’ 

He said they came from a time of his life where he ‘can see myself changing’ and talks about the progression of his language as the posts go on.

However, Platner notes that he also became ‘more disillusioned’ as time went on with politics and the state of the world, a reflection of what he said was his own state of mind.

‘I was struggling deeply. I had PTSD, I had depression, I had all of things that come with serving in two wars that I eventually began to not believe in all,’ he said of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said he was looking for ‘community’ and an ‘outlet for my feelings, for my rage, for my isolation.’

Platner said ‘that all went away’ when he found ‘actual community.’

Platner said that he eventually changed as a person when he found community and met his wife

Platner apologized to those who see ‘someone they don’t recognize’ in the comments

‘The reason that I stopped posting on Reddit in 2021 was the because I found this,’ he said, pointing to his Sullivan, Maine backyard. 

‘I had moved back to my hometown, I’d found community, I’d started a business, I met someone to fall in love with, I began to really begin to feel connected again and not only did it make me feel connected, it gave me a lot of hope,’ he said.

‘I went from thinking that people were bad to knowing that people were good. I went from thinking that there was no hope to having nothing but hope.’

He said that despite the offensive comments, he is ‘very proud of the person I am today.’

‘I won’t defend things I said in the past, I will say that if it wasn’t for that entire journey, I wouldn’t be who I am today and I am proud of who I am today.’

Platner said he was sorry to supporters who see ‘someone they don’t recognize’ in the posts, adding that he doesn’t recognize himself.

However, he added that he does recognize that there are many people who feel the way he used to and implored them to find community.

‘I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective of all at who I am. I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I wrote on the internet. I want you to judge me on who I am today.’

Platner faces a challenge in the primary against Maine’s two-term Democrat Governor Janet Mills

Platner is running for the seat currently occupied by Republican Susan Collins 

The scandal comes as Platner faces an establishment-backed challenger in the race to challenge Collins in 2026.

Maine´s two-term Democratic Governor Janet Mills will run for the seat as well, setting up a possible showdown between the parties´ best-known figures in a state where Democrats see a chance to gain a seat in their uphill quest for the Senate majority. 

National Democrats see Maine as an important target. It is in the only place on the 2026 Senate election map where Republicans are defending a seat in a state carried last year by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. 

The party would need to gain a net of four seats, while most of the states with Senate elections next year are places where Republican Donald Trump beat Harris. 

Maine is an exception, while in North Carolina, where Trump narrowly won, Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper is viewed as a contender, and Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown is running in Ohio, where Trump won comfortably.

Collins has long cast herself as a reflection of Maine’s independent spirit but has frequently voted with Trump on key issues. 

Platner has the backing of  Bernie Sanders, who posted on social media on Thursday that Platner is ‘a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins’ and that it´s ‘disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run.’