Senate Hopeful Graham Platner Under Scrutiny for Reddit Posts — Calls Himself a "Communist"

2025 has been a year of disturbing revelations when it comes to political figures. For the most part, these revelations have centered on figures from the Right, dealing Republicans several blows to their national reputation.

Until October 2025, most revelations dodged Democrats. That is, until Graham Platner, a Senate hopeful from Maine trying to unseat Senator Susan Collins, came along.

Graham is under scrutiny after a number of eyebrow-raising old Reddit posts. Some of them are resonating with Democratic voters and shoring up his support. But others have prompted Graham to issue an apology. Here's what he had to say.

Graham Platner is a former Marine turned oyster farmer who seems to reflect the demographic of his intended constituents quite well. He speaks to concerns that working Maine locals have, and his campaign has been well-received as Susan Collins has faced mounting scrutiny for seeming to back out of promises she's made to voters.

But CNN raised alarm bells after they reported on old Reddit posts from Graham under the handle "P-Hustle." According to the outlet, Graham "once called himself a 'communist,' dismissed 'all' police as b-----ds, and said rural White Americans 'actually are' racist and stupid," based on reviews they made of his account.

The Democratic hopeful spoke with CNN and told them that he disavowed his older posts, adding, "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.”

While some of what Graham said was shocking, for some voters, he was only saying what needed to be said. In one older post reviewed by CNN, Graham wrote that 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.”

He added, "Still got the guns though. I don’t trust the fascists to act politely.”

And on his Instagram, voters appreciate the sentiment. Under one post, one user wrote, "That’s the guy you want on the Senator foreign relations committee and the veterans affairs committee and the senate intelligence committee — that’s the human that you want deciding when and where we send soldiers into combat."

Another added, "This is a man who is trying to lift up others while clearly dealing with his own difficult past. I applaud his honesty and determination to serve his state." While one user added, "This 'smear' campaign is only making you more authentic and THAT is what this country needs. People like you and Zohran [Mamdani]."

Yet despite apparent enthusiasm for his older posts, Graham assured CNN, “I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I own a small business. I’m a Marine Corps veteran.”