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Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer who is now a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, once called himself a “communist,” dismissed “all” police as bastards, and said rural White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid, according to deleted social media posts reviewed by CNN’s KFile.
In one now-deleted Reddit comment from 2021, Platner responded to a thread about people becoming more conservative as they age by saying: “I got older and became a communist.” The comment was made on a subreddit called r/Antiwork, a far-left forum “for those who want to end work.”
Can't believe I agree with a trantifa when I too ask: Why don't black people tip?
So what Young Republican would be a better candidate?Meet the Real Graham Platner
Jim Geraghty
October 18, 2025
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Barely two months ago, little-known Senate candidate Graham Platner announced his bid to unseat Republican Susan Collins and was immediately celebrated by the New York Times with a largely-glowing profile. But in recent days, other big mainstream media institutions have turned their attention to Platner and found all manner of controversial past statements, starting with CNN:
any of them.So what Young Republican would be a better candidate?