Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner discussed buying cocaine in now-deleted Reddit posts and admitted to drug use and "partying it up" while backpacking during paid military leave.
Platner, in posts from 2020, recalled his travels through Europe just before leaving the Marine Corps in 2008.
"I was making a pretty penny doing just about nothing. Went backpacking through Europe on the government dime, walked the Camino de Santiago, did some drugs and had a blast partying it up in hostels across the continent," wrote Platner, who posted on Reddit under the handle P-Hustle.
Platner "highly" recommended the drug-fueled experience to other Reddit users.
"No regrets," he wrote in February 2020.
Platner, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, discussed buying cocaine in another post from around the same time. Platner responded to someone who asked about a Coast Guard seizure of 12,000 pounds of cocaine valued at $312 million.
"Street value," Platner wrote in July 2020. "I always wonder what street you're buying your cocaine on, because it's not the street I'm buying my cocaine on."
Platner's drug use could also prove a political liability in Maine, the oldest state in the nation in terms of median age. Older Americans typically are more disapproving of drug use compared to their younger counterparts. While there is little public polling on Americans' views of cocaine and other illicit drugs, just 43 percent of Americans older than 65 approve of recreational marijuana use, compared to 63 percent of Americans between 18 and 29. And unlike marijuana, which is being legalized in multiple states, cocaine remains illegal, and the market is controlled by ruthless drug cartels.
It is unclear if Platner admitted his drug use to the military or if it would have affected his service status. Platner's posts suggest he took the drug-infused European trip at the end of his first deployment with the Marines, which ended in 2008. After the Marines and a stint at George Washington University, Platner joined the Army in 2011.
The Marine Corps, which Platner joined in 2004, has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding illicit drug use, and those who violate the policy can be prosecuted under military law and kicked out of the Corps.
"Any Marine caught using or selling drugs while attached to the Battalion will be prosecuted under the [Uniform Code of Military Justice] and processed for separation from the Marine Corps," reads a Marine Corps memo on the topic.
Cocaine has proven to be a career-killer for other politicians and politically connected military members. Former Rep. Trey Radel (R., Fla.) resigned from Congress in 2014 after he was convicted of buying cocaine during a sting operation. Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, was kicked out of the Navy in 2014 after he tested positive for cocaine.
Drugs aren't the only thing Platner picked up while on leave in Europe. In 2005, while on leave in Croatia, Platner got a Nazi tattoo known as a Totenkopf, a distinct skull and crossbones symbol that was worn by SS soldiers who manned the Nazi concentration camps. Platner has claimed he was drunk when he got the tattoo, and was not aware of its Nazi connections until it was brought to his attention by reporters last year. But Platner's friends have reportedly said that Platner discussed the tattoo—which he called "My Totenkopf"—years earlier. He has since had the tattoo covered up with a new tattoo of a "Celtic knot."
Platner has racked up a lengthy list of controversies in just nine months on the campaign trail. His campaign acknowledged over the weekend that Platner exchanged sexually explicit text messages with at least six women shortly after he got married in 2023.
Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, flagged the messages for Platner's campaign last August, prior to his campaign launch. Gertner is employed by her husband's campaign and has appeared in multiple videos about her fertility struggles. Gertner introduced Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) at a campaign event in April.
Despite efforts to delete them, Platner's Reddit postings have been the biggest source of material for his opponents.
Platner described in one post how he masturbates in porta potties, a kink he said he picked up while serving in the military. Planter referred to rural Mainers as "racist," and has said that rape victims should "take some responsibility for themselves."
In another post, Platner mocked a soldier seen in a video being shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan. "Dumb motherf—er didn't deserve to live," wrote Platner, who deployed to Afghanistan while in the Army and as a contractor for Constellis.
Platner's campaign did not respond to questions about his drug use. The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.
