What to know about Graham Platner, Maine's embattled progressive Senate candidate

Graham Platner, since launching his bid for Senate in August, has garnered attention and support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, is running to unseat longtime incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in the Pine Tree State. His platform calls for reforming campaign finance and immigration laws, breaking up monopolies, reining in government surveillance, strengthening unions and ending “pointless wars” the U.S. is involved in.

First, he must outlast a crowded Democratic primary field headlined by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who jumped into the race last week.

But in recent days, Platner has faced criticism over numerous offensive remarks he made on Reddit over the past decade-plus, as well as a tattoo that his detractors say echoes Nazi propaganda.

Here's what you need to know about the 41-year-old populist candidate.

Background

Platner was born in Blue Hill, Maine, and raised in the coastal towns of Ellsworth and Sullivan. He graduated from the private John Bapst Memorial High School in the town of Bangor in 2003, local outlet The Ellsworth American reported.

According to a yearbook photo Platner posted to social platform X in August, he won the “Most Likely to Start a Revolution” superlative in high school. In the photo, Platner is holding a sign that appears to say, “FREE KOSOVO, CHECHYA, KASHMIR, PALESTINE, KURDISTAN, TIBET.”

Platner “snuck his birth certificate out of his father’s office” to enlist in the Marine Corps after he graduated, according to his campaign website. He was deployed to Al Anbar Province in Iraq in January 2005 and deployed twice more before returning to the U.S. after his third deployment in 2007.

Upon his return, he attended George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C., using financial aid provided under the GI Bill. In 2009, he joined the Maryland Army National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan the next year as a rifle team leader.

Worked at popular DC dive bar

He returned to GWU in 2011. During his time in the nation’s capital, Platner bartended at the Tune Inn Restaurant and Bar in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Last month, he returned to the spot to guest bartend for a night, according to X user @the_vello.

Platner eventually withdrew from GWU due to struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moved back to Maine, his website explains.

Back in Sullivan, he began working on his friend’s oyster farm in 2018, eventually taking it over. He is the harbormaster and planning board chair of Sullivan. 

Reddit posts cause national stir

Last week, CNN and The Washington Post reported on various comments Platner made on Reddit throughout the last dozen or so years. 

Platner, among other remarks, referred to users as a slur intended to offend those with special needs, called himself a “communist,” called “all” police “bastards,” said rural White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid, minimized issues those in the military have in reporting sexual assault and said those who are raped should “not get so f‑‑‑ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

In a video he posted Friday to X, Platner disavowed the comments, saying they stemmed from his struggles with PTSD. During a Monday appearance on "Pod Save America," he said Maine residents will “recognize that this is not at all the person that they have come to know, and come to interact with in reality.” 

Platner’s political director, former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, resigned from his campaign over the posts, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Tattoo compounds problems

While on the left-leaning podcast, Platner also said he was not aware that a tattoo on his chest bore resemblance to a Nazi symbol.

The skull tattoo, which the Maine Democrat said he got in 2007 during a night of drinking with friends while on leave from the Marines in Croatia, resembles a Totenkopf — a German symbol meaning “death’s head” that was used by Nazi troops.

Platner’s campaign told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has covered the tattoo. On "Pod Save America," he said he is “not a secret Nazi” and called himself “a lifelong opponent” to Nazism, antisemitism and racism. 

Jewish Insider reported Tuesday that in 2012 at the Tune Inn, Platner referred to the tattoo as “my Totenkopf” to an acquaintance. 

Sanders standing by him — so far 

Despite the backlash, Platner is staying in the race. He does so with the backing of progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who noted Tuesday that Platner “went through some really difficult experiences” while overseas. 

“We don’t have enough candidates in this country that will take on the powers that be and fight for the working class,” Sanders told reporters, according to Punchbowl News.

Revelations follow Mills entering race

Mills, the favored candidate of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), is the highest-profile candidate in the race. The 77-year-old, two-term governor launched her campaign on Oct. 14. 

In a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Platner’s campaign called Schumer endorsing Mills “the establishment backing the establishment.”

"Graham was never going to win this race because he had the DC establishment behind him," the spokesperson added. "He's going to win because he has Mainers behind him."