‘I got older and became a communist’: Deleted posts show Maine Senate hopeful’s raw views on politics, war, and police

Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer, is running as a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine. Greta Rybus/The New York Times/Redux

Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer who is now a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, once called himself a “communist,” dismissed “all” police as bastards, and said rural White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid, according to deleted social media posts reviewed by CNN’s KFile.

Most of the posts were made five years ago under Platner’s then- Reddit handle P-Hustle. They were deleted ahead of his campaign launch in August. The posts in some ways underscore Platner’s reputation as an anti-establishment outsider with unapologetically left-wing views. But the labels and tone used in his writings could also pr