ME-SEN: Mamdani adviser heads to Maine to sort out Senate mess

[RandySF]

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on Graham Platner, Maine’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, to end his campaign, a day after Platner was accused of sexual assault by a former partner.

“I believe that it’s time for him to drop out of the race. … I think the focus of today should be to respond to the gravity of what so many of us have read (about Platner), and I think the only appropriate response is for the campaign to come to an end,” he told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday.

At the same time, the mayor’s top political adviser, Morris Katz, was flying to Maine to try to sort things out with Platner. The 27-year-old New Yorker has advised Platner since he launched his left-populist, anti-establishment campaign for U.S. Senate last year. The New York Post reported that Katz has been encouraging Platner to stay in the race, but a person close to the campaign told City & State that’s not true.

The source said Katz’s progressive political consulting firm Fight Agency is currently working with Platner to wind down the campaign – Platner hasn’t formally suspended his campaign yet, but almost all campaign operations are currently on ice – and figure out who should replace him on the ballot. He needs to drop out by July 13 to ensure Maine Democrats can nominate someone else to run for Senate against Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.




https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/07/mamdani-adviser-heads-maine-sort-out-senate-mess/414630/?oref=csny-category-lander-top-story

[Lovie777]

1. No mess................

[senseandsensibility]

2. Platner's receiving plenty of advice and has been for a while now

The question is: is he listening? Does he care? That's one of the problems of nominating an unknown with no record of public service. We don't know if he cares one whit about the party.

[lapucelle]

3. I know the story says"Mamdani advisor", but Morris Katz was running Platner's campaign.

Morris Katz is the architect of this mess, and he's behind Platner's current demands.

Katz's strict operational control and strategic planning over the campaign are evidenced by several key actions:

Katz plucked Platner from relative obscurity, branding the candidate as a figure who "embodies the trauma of a country that lost its way". He orchestrated the populist media strategy that successfully propelled Platner to defeat moderate Governor Janet Mills in the Democratic primary.

When scandals began to break, Katz personally handled the campaign's defense. He went so far as to issue severe warnings through intermediaries to former political director Genevieve McDonald. He threatened to publicly accuse her of "sabotage" on the record if she shared evidence of Platner's compromising texts with journalists.

Following catastrophic sexual assault allegations, Katz's control shifted from a winning strategy to a defensive wind-down. Katz traveled directly to Maine to manage the parameters of Platner’s potential exit. He has been advising Platner to withhold dropping out unless national Democrats agree to a successor who aligns strictly with the progressive vision Katz originally designed.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/31/politics/top-graham-platner-adviser-threatened-former-aide-over-sexting-stories/

[msongs]

4. DSA family values on display?

[lapucelle]

7. Katz wrote a book about puberty and wanted to use pictures of his own penis in illustrations.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Puberty—and Shouldn't Be Googling: For Curious Boys" (published by Downtown Bookworks/Simon & Schuster was co-authored by Morris Katz and Amelia Pinney).

On page 17, a footnote written by Katz explicitly states:"At first, we were going to use images of my penis to get this point across but the publisher said it was inappropriate so here we are, with some fruit and animal metaphors.["

To see the page, go to the preview link on the amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Always-Puberty_and-Shouldnt-Googling/dp/1950587134

[BannonsLiver]

11. And this is the "advisor"?

[lapucelle]

12. Indeed.

[lapucelle]

14. The publisher had to talk him out of putting photos of his penis in a children's book.

[BannonsLiver]

15. Paging Captain Oveur

[LisaL]

6. The rules don't say that it's up to Platner to decide who

is replacing him if he drops out. If this guy is advising him that, it's not a good advice.

[tishaLA]

10. Daniel Moraff is another one responsible for this mess

he insisted on an accelerated vetting process when a typical, lengthy one would have caught all this stuff before we started donating money and defending his earlier shortcomings.

[lapucelle]

13. Absolutely true.

[LisaL]

5. It is a mess that one could see coming from a mile away.

But people ignored all the red flags left and right. At least he can still drop out, but that depends on him now, since he got the nomination.

[Boo1]

8. They were warned

Clearly, directly, and repeatedly.



Very maga cult like to have ignored all of that, even more for anyone still wanting him to run.

[BannonsLiver]

9. Jesus what a shit show.