The Maine Senate race, already one of the most closely watched contests heading into the 2026 midterms, has taken a dramatic and contentious turn following the resurfacing of years-old Reddit posts by Democratic hopeful Graham Platner. The revelations have set off a firestorm within the state’s Democratic Party, forced a high-profile resignation, and offered an unexpected reprieve to embattled Republican Senator Susan Collins.
Graham Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer, veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and current harbormaster in Sullivan, Maine, entered the race earlier this year as a charismatic outsider with a reputation for straight talk and a passionate following among younger, progressive voters. His campaign quickly drew large crowds and the support of labor unions such as the United Auto Workers and Maine State Nurses Association, according to The American Prospect. Platner’s candidacy was seen as a breath of fresh air in a state where political tradition and age-old divides between rural and urban communities run deep.
But the campaign hit a major hurdle last week when a trove of Platner’s old Reddit posts was unearthed by CNN and other outlets. The posts, some of which dated from the years following his Army discharge in 2012, included vulgar language, the use of the “R-slur,” and sweeping condemnations of rural white Americans as “racist and stupid.” He also referred to “all” police officers as “bastards,” questioned why Black people “don’t tip,” and suggested that people concerned about rape should “take some responsibility for themselves and not get so fucked up,” as reported by the Bangor Daily News. In another post, Platner claimed keeping guns at home was necessary because he didn’t “trust the fascists to act politely.”
The backlash was swift. Genevieve McDonald, Platner’s political director and a former state representative, resigned on Friday, October 17, 2025. In her resignation letter, obtained by the Bangor Daily News, McDonald wrote, “Platner’s remarks were not known to me when I agreed to join the campaign, and they are not words or values I can stand behind in a candidate. While I am empathetic to Graham’s experiences and respect his personal journey and growth, I cannot overlook the volume and nature of his past comments, many of which were made as an adult, not as a young man.”
Platner responded by posting a direct-to-camera apology video on X, in which he described the period after his Army service as a dark time marked by PTSD and depression. “I got out of the Army in 2012. I had PTSD, I had depression. I had all of the things that come with serving in a war, in two wars that I eventually began to not believe in at all. It left me feeling very unmoored. It left me feeling very disillusioned, very alienated, and very isolated,” Platner said in the video, as quoted by New York Magazine. “I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am. I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today.”
Platner has since attempted to contextualize his remarks, highlighting his efforts to encourage fellow veterans to seek help for mental health issues through the VA. “Something I’m proud of from my internet history? I spent a lot of time online encouraging other veterans to also get help through the VA. Because I knew even then that it was literally saving my life,” he posted on Sunday, October 19, 2025. On Monday, Platner also shared screenshots of past comments addressing homophobia and misogyny in the Marines, suggesting he was proud of some of his advocacy work from 2017 and 2018.
Despite the apology, the controversy has not abated. Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin condemned Platner’s posts as “indefensible, hurtful, and offensive,” but stopped short of calling them disqualifying. “I don’t think they’re disqualifying, but certainly they’re not right and I’m glad that he apologized for them,” Martin told CNN on Sunday. The comments, he added, “are not words or values I can stand behind in a candidate.”
The timing of the Reddit revelations has fueled speculation about intra-party maneuvering. Within 24 hours of Governor Janet Mills announcing her own candidacy for the Democratic nomination, Platner’s posts—many previously scrubbed from the internet—surfaced in the media. As Patch noted, the episode recalls past instances where establishment Democrats have moved swiftly to neutralize insurgent candidates. The tension between the party’s progressive wing, represented by Platner and his mentor Senator Bernie Sanders, and its more moderate, establishment faction, embodied by Mills, is now front and center in the Maine primary.
Janet Mills, the two-term governor and former attorney general, brings decades of experience and a record of crisis management to the race. She has implemented Medicaid expansion, presided over the rebuilding of Maine’s health care system, and has been a staunch supporter of abortion rights. Yet, as The American Prospect reports, Mills has also frustrated some progressive Democrats with her moderate stances, including vetoing tax increases on high-income earners and hesitating on police reform bills.
The general election landscape is equally fraught. Susan Collins, who has served five terms and chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, is facing growing voter dissatisfaction at home. “This is the first time I’ve ever found myself saying Susan Collins is in big trouble, and part of it is people are actually tired of her—and not just Democrats,” said Alan Caron, a former gubernatorial candidate, in an interview with The American Prospect. Collins’s campaign has downplayed the Democratic primary as “very chaotic,” but some observers argue the energy and anger in Maine could spell trouble for the incumbent.
Maine’s unique political landscape—with its sharp divide between rural northern towns and the more liberal southern seacoast, and a large share of independent voters—means the outcome of both the primary and general election is far from certain. Platner’s outsider status and blunt style have energized younger voters and those seeking change, but the Reddit controversy has raised serious questions about his judgment and electability. Mills, meanwhile, must balance her experience and moderate record against a restive base hungry for generational change.
Fundraising numbers reflect the intensity of the contest: within 24 hours of Mills’s announcement, she raised $1 million, while Platner kept pace with $500,000. Platner’s campaign claims over 11,000 volunteers and more than $4 million raised to date. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s quick endorsement of Mills has only deepened suspicions among Platner’s supporters about establishment favoritism.
To add another twist, Maine’s ranked-choice voting system means that even a bruising primary could leave the eventual nominee well-positioned for the general election. As Michael Franz, a Bowdoin College professor, told The American Prospect, “We know who Janet Mills is, we don’t yet know who Platner is, but a lot of people are impressed, so he’s going to be a big factor here. Either one of them could win the primary, and I think either one of them will beat Susan Collins.”
With eight months to go before the primary, Maine’s Senate race is shaping up to be a test not only of political endurance but of the state’s—and the nation’s—appetite for forgiveness, authenticity, and generational change. The coming months will reveal whether Platner’s apology and grassroots appeal can overcome his controversial past, or if the Democratic establishment’s bet on experience and caution will carry the day.
