Mills attacks Platner over past Reddit comments about sexual assault in new ad 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills’s (D) campaign launched its first attack ad on Tuesday, denouncing her progressive opponent Graham Platner over previous Reddit comments downplaying sexual assault.

In the 30-second ad, several women are handed iPads showing comments Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, made on Reddit in 2013.

“Did you know Graham Platner wrote that women worried about rape need to quote…” a narrator says in the ad, before another narrator quotes Platner’s comments, saying, “Not get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

“Platner wrote to avoid rape women should quote…,” the first narrator continues, before the voiceover quotes Platner again, saying, “Act like an adult for f—s sake.” 

The women in the ad condemn Platner’s past comments, calling him a “bully” and that there is “no way” they “could vote for” the candidate.  

A narrator ends the ad by saying, “Graham Platner, the closer you look, the worst it gets.” 

The six-figure ad buy is running on both cable and broadcast television, marking a nasty turn in the Democratic primary to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.)

The Washington Post reported in October that Platner, who’s seen as the Maine governor’s main rival in Democratic race to replace Collins, had made comments on Reddit more than a decade ago in which he downplayed the seriousness of sexual assault and rape. 

In a 2013 Reddit thread with the subject line, “Shorts that prevent you from being raped,” one user wrote, “There’s always that story about the girl who gets raped because she drank too much and somebody took advantage of that. Shouldn’t she be allowed to drink as much as she wants, and f—ing pass out in the floor, if she wants to, without having to worry about the well-being of her nether regions?” 

According to the Post, Platner replied, in a now-deleted post, that people should show enough restraint using alcohol to not put themselves in a dangerous position in the first place. 

“Holy f—, how about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so fucked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?” Platner wrote. “Men and women, you make a choice to consume enough of a substance to lose your self control. So if you don’t want to be in a [compromising] situation, act like an adult for f—s sake.” 

Platner, who has faced scrutiny over other past Reddits comments he made about Black people tipping and law enforcement, has distanced himself from the remarks. He told The Post that he made those comments after returning home from several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was at a difficult point in his life.  

“I don’t want people to judge me off the dumbest thing I said on the internet 12 years ago,” he told the newspaper, also saying “I can honestly say I did not know what the f— I was talking about.” 

“I would like people to engage with who I am today,” he told The Post. 

Mills’s ad also includes footage of a shirtless Platner, where a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol is shown on his chest. The progressive candidate came under fire last year over the tattoo, which he has since covered up.

Platner campaign manager Ben Chin slammed the ad in a Tuesday statement, calling it “a desperate attempt for relevance from the governor.” 

“Despite what Janet Mills and DC think, Mainers know that Graham should not be defined by the worst thing he said on the internet over a decade ago,” Chin said.  

“Graham’s gone all across the state talking to Mainers at nearly 50 town halls about their lives, their future, and defeating Susan Collins, while Janet Mills has run a campaign behind closed doors, rooted in the past, and aligned with the same insiders who have failed this state,” Chin added. 

Public polling has shown Platner ahead of Mills in the Democratic contest for the Maine Senate seat. A polling average of Maine Senate Democratic surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ show Platner at 48 percent and Mills at 36 percent.  

Platner has also aired negative advertising in the race. An ad from last year featured several women suggesting that they liked Mills but wanted someone different. 

“Janet Mills again?” one woman says in the Platner ad. “She was a good governor, but I think it’s time for change.” 

Collins is seen as one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans this cycle, though she’s proven to be a formidable challenger for Democrats.  

The Democratic primary between the oyster farmer and Maine governor has turned into a proxy battle over generational turnover and the direction of the party. Mills is seen as the establishment, centrist candidate while Platner has aligned himself with the progressive and populist faction of the Democratic wing.  

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