Have you heard about Graham Platner? The left is hailing him as “Maine’s Mamdani,” and he’s being packaged as the next great working-class progressive hero. Much like Tim Walz was supposed to be before the mask slipped, Platner mixes far-left ideology with a blue-collar aesthetic — the kind Democrats think will fool middle America into thinking they’re still the party of the working man.
He’s a tattooed veteran and small business owner who, at first glance, looks like he’d be cheering at a Trump/MAGA rally. But then he opens his mouth and starts railing against “oligarchs and billionaires” like a discount Bernie Sanders. It’s the same tired socialist rhetoric, just wrapped in flannel and ink to make it look authentic.
My name is Graham Platner and I’m running for US Senate to defeat Susan Collins and topple the oligarchy that’s destroying our country.
I’m a veteran, oysterman, and working class Mainer who’s seen this state become unlivable for working people. And that makes me deeply angry. pic.twitter.com/QZfAm528N1
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) August 19, 2025
Graham Platner is running for the U.S. Senate with one mission: to take down Susan Collins — the left’s favorite punching bag. He’s the outsider in a Democratic primary against Governor Janet Mills, the establishment pick who’s already got the party machine and donor class behind her.
The progressive press is swooning over Platner’s “authenticity,” but even they can’t quite commit. Just yesterday, The Bulwark ran an interview that began with an oh-so-cautious disclaimer about being hesitant to “embrace” him because he’s a bit of an unknown quantity. Translation: they love his socialist rhetoric, but they’re terrified of what might come out of his closet once the vetting starts:
LAUREN EGAN: You have a ton of momentum right now. But to the extent that there’s hesitation, it’s the fact that you’re untested—and we don’t know what skeletons are in your closet. So, if you want to tell us what skeletons are in your closet, please go ahead.
GRAHAM PLATNER: I don’t have that many. I’ve lived a pretty simple life. I have not been close to money and power.
Well, that didn’t take long. Just in time for Halloween, some of Graham Platner’s skeletons have come rattling right out of the closet — and they’re not pretty. CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski dropped a piece digging through Platner’s old Reddit posts, and surprise, surprise: the guy’s a self-proclaimed communist who openly despises law enforcement:
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.”…
In another Reddit post that year, Platner reflected on his life after his military service, saying he was “a vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist these days. After the war, I’ve pretty much stopped believing in any of the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place, and am a firm believer that the best thing a person can do is help their neighbors and live a loving life.”
“Still got the guns though,” he added. “I don’t trust the fascists to act politely.”…
In one deleted comment, in a thread about a Black army lieutenant who was held at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed by police during a traffic stop, one Reddit user wrote, “Bastards. Cops are bastards.” Platner replied, “All of them, in fact.”
Platner also frequently weighed in on police violence, arguing that misconduct was “a problem that extends deep into the profession as a whole” and rejecting claims of accidental shootings after incidents such as the killing of Minneapolis Black man Daunte Wright, writing, “F**k these cops.”…
In another since-removed post from 2020, Platner responded to a thread titled “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks” by writing, “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are.”
That last statement is likely to be popular in rural Maine, which is approximately 91% white. He may have also limited his appeal to those who appreciate America. He wrote in another Reddit forum in 2021, “I did used to love America, or at least the idea of it. These days I’m pretty disgusted by it all.”
CNN allowed him to comment, and of course, Platner denied believing those things. “That was very much me f**king around the internet,” he told CNN. He added, “I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I own a small business.”
As for his comments about the police, he says he has a bunch of friends who are cops and assures CNN, “They’re not all bastards…” Does he think white people are racist and stupid? “I don’t believe that,” he claimed.
So which Graham Platner do you think is the real one — the guy posting anonymously on Reddit four years ago with no reason to lie, or the polished Senate candidate today who suddenly wants to pretend none of that ever happened? Let’s be honest: we all know the answer. The mask always slips eventually.
But here’s the kicker — the progressive base won’t care. In fact, they’ll probably love it. Many of them share the same contempt for cops, for America, and yes, for white people. These aren’t fringe views in their movement anymore; they’re part of the creed. If Platner’s anti-police, anti-capitalist rants were a dealbreaker for Democrats, his campaign would be finished today. Instead, don’t be surprised if his fundraising numbers skyrocket. To the far left, hating the country has become a résumé booster.
It’s the same story we’ve seen before. Remember Jay Jones in Virginia? He’s the guy who hinted back in 2020 that he wanted to see police officers die. Now he’s in full damage-control mode, pretending it was all a misunderstanding. But let’s be real — his base doesn’t care. The left’s seething hatred for cops and conservatives isn’t a bug in their movement; it’s a feature.
And then there’s Zohran Mamdani, the commie who’s running for mayor of New York City — another darling of the progressive crowd — who called police racist and later offered one of those hollow, PR-approved apologies. Nobody believes he’s changed, and that’s exactly why they love him. They want radicals who hate the system. They want people who despise law enforcement.
That’s why Graham Platner will be just fine. He’ll weather this “scandal,” his supporters will double down, and the Democratic establishment will quietly cheer him on.
