SouthernWorldwide.com – A campaign strategist for the Democratic Party, recently gaining attention for his efforts to manage the fallout from Graham Platner’s public sexting scandals, has resurfaced writings that mention sending and receiving “nudes” and a footnote in a puberty guide he authored for boys that referenced using images of his own penis.
Morris Katz, a rising campaign strategist for the Democratic Party in New York City, who is credited with playing a significant role in the electoral upset of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year, wrote on the Medium blogging platform in 2019. During a separate Democratic Party sexting scandal, he stated that he had both “sent” and “received nudes.” Furthermore, Katz authored a puberty guide for boys in 2020, which on page 17, included a footnote indicating that he had initially considered using “images of my penis” to illustrate puberty, but the publisher deemed it inappropriate.
These unearthed writings have attracted scrutiny over the past week from Maine Republicans. This scrutiny followed accusations that Katz was attempting to mitigate the repercussions of the sexting scandal involving Platner, who exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has faced criticism regarding predatory behavior and child safety concerns.
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The irony has not been lost on Republicans in Maine. They argue that Katz’s past writings add another peculiar dimension to Platner’s campaign, which is already struggling to overcome allegations concerning the candidate’s judgment across numerous scandals.
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“This guy [Katz], who is unbelievably strange, comes in from out of state and tries to get this horribly flawed guy, like limping, pleading across the finish line. That is so arrogant,” stated a GOP strategist. “The arrogance that it takes to come in and say, ‘I’m an out-of-state progressive socialist here to make some money off a flawed candidate bleeding in the polls,’ and then try to take that away from the people who really need it, you’re going to take away what Susan Collins has done and will be able to do for these people.”
Platner’s campaign has been plagued by controversies since he emerged as a progressive challenger in Maine’s closely watched Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Some of the most recent controversies have centered on reports alleging that Platner was abusive to an ex-girlfriend and that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on the platform Kik. Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly disclosed these messages to campaign officials during an internal vetting process. The campaign has acknowledged the existence of the messages, while asserting that the matter was resolved privately between Platner and his wife.
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The controversy intensified after reports emerged that Platner still maintained an active profile on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has drawn criticism from child-safety groups and law enforcement officials. The profile reportedly featured a shirtless mirror selfie of Platner with a towel around his waist, which Republican staffers later appeared to mock outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by showing up in towels.
Platner had already faced scrutiny over a tattoo that critics identified as a Nazi-linked symbol, which he later covered up. Platner has stated that he was unaware of the symbol’s association with Nazis when he got the tattoo years ago, although McDonald has contested that he has been aware of its meaning for some time.
Platner also issued an apology after old Reddit posts resurfaced in which he made a series of inflammatory comments about rape, race, political violence, police, rural Americans, and military veterans. Platner has stated that his views have evolved and that some of his past comments reflected a darker period in his life following his military service.
More recently, Platner denied allegations from a former girlfriend who accused him of abusive behavior, labeling the claims as politically motivated. His campaign has accused critics and national media outlets of focusing on private matters and personal attacks rather than the issues that affect Maine voters.
