Progressive frontrunner in crucial Senate race faces backlash over comments praising Hamas raid

By Fox News · Fox News

Graham Platner's past controversial comments are once again garnering negative attention for the surging progressive candidate in a crucial Senate race in Maine that could determine the chamber's majority. Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran who served four combat tours of duty in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, praised the military tactics used by Hamas in comments he made on Reddit about a graphic video posted online of a 2014 Hamas raid in which terrorists killed at least five Israeli soldiers. The archived posts from Platner's now-deleted Reddit profile under the username "P-Hustle" were reported this week by the Jewish Insider . Commenting on the deadly raid by Hamas, Platner wrote, "Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me." His comments appeared on the Reddit forum r/CombatFootage, a discussion board for video and photographs of past and current military actions. WHAT SUSAN COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS AS SHE LAUNCHED HER RE-ELECTION BID The Jewish Insider highlighted in their report that Platner, responding to another Reddit user who criticized the Hamas "execution" of the Israeli soldiers, said "Pragmatically I have little problem with killing an enemy combatant who you attempt to capture but for whatever reason cannot. From a strictly professional standpoint, this was a damn fine looking and successful raid against a superior opponent, I dig it." Fox News reached out to Platner's campaign for comment, but didn't receive a response at the time this story published. Platner, an oyster farmer who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is the clear polling and fundraising frontrunner as he faces off in a June primary against two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who enjoys the support of Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The winner of the Democratic primary will take on moderate Republican Sen. Susan…