Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner released a video on Friday expressing regret for inflammatory social media posts from his past. He attributed the comments, which included endorsements of political violence and disparaging remarks about police and racial groups, to his mental state after returning from military service in Afghanistan. Platner is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine.
Graham Platner, a Democrat and oyster farmer from Sullivan, Maine, is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. Susan Collins. His campaign has been overshadowed by resurfaced Reddit posts that drew widespread criticism. In a video statement released Friday, Platner offered a detailed apology, linking the "offensive language" to his experiences in the military.
Platner served in Afghanistan and returned in 2011, staying in the Army until 2012. He explained that some of his most indefensible comments came from that period, reflecting the "crude humor, the dark, dark feelings, the offensive language that really was a hallmark of the infantry when I was in it." The posts, which he deleted before announcing his campaign, date back to 2013 and as recently as 2021. Among them: a 2018 suggestion that political violence is necessary for social change (reported by POLITICO); 2013 comments downplaying sexual assault in the military (Washington Post); a 2020 post labeling rural White Americans as racist and stupid, and a 2021 remark calling all cops "bastards" (CNN); and a 2013 query about why Black people "don’t tip" (Bangor Daily News).
Platner said he stopped posting on Reddit around 2020 or 2021 upon returning to Maine, where he built a life in his community. "I went from thinking that people were bad to knowing that people are good. I went from thinking that there was no hope to having nothing but hope," he stated. Endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Platner aims to win the Democratic nomination against Gov. Janet Mills in what could be a key midterm pickup opportunity for Democrats.
Republicans rejected the apology. National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez posted on social media: "Five minutes in which Graham Platner blames HIS FELLOW SERVICEMEN for things he said."