Morris Katz, a close advisor to Graham Platner who stood by the embattled Maine Democrat until the final days of his Senate race, is now adopting a more contrite tone as he looks back on what went wrong in the campaign, one of the most closely watched in the country this year. 

“The tattoo should have been enough,” Katz said in an interview on “The Ezra Klein Show” from The New York Times. He was referring to Platner’s tattoo of a Totenkopf, a symbol associated with the Nazi regime’s elite — and brutal — SS unit. Platner denied knowing what the tattoo, a version of a skull and crossbones, represented, though an ex-girlfriend has maintained that he told her and others that he knew what it was. Katz said her account should’ve been taken more seriously when she shared it. 

Katz also referenced scores of old social media posts from Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer who was dogged from the start of the Democratic primary by a series of past posts and remarks invoking slurs, promoting violence and making light of sexual assault. “In hindsight, knowing what we know now, the Reddit posts alone probably should have been enough,” he added.

Throughout a steady drip-drip-drip of new revelations, which grew to include allegations that he was sending sexually explicit messages to women other than his wife and that he had a history of being manipulative and intimidating toward ex-girlfriends, Platner emerged with a similar message to voters: that he had changed, and was a better person now. A rape allegation ultimately ended his campaign. 

“I think both things can be true: that we need different kinds of candidates running outside of the political arena,” Katz told Klein, “and that it’s the United States Senate, and candidacies should be held to an incredibly high standard.”

The 27-year-old Katz, who played a pivotal role in the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was part of Platner’s campaign even before it began. He helped to recruit the candidate and had reportedly told people he wanted to see Platner run for president in 2028. Platner regularly drew large crowds, even as more reports about his background emerged, and won the Democratic nomination after his top competitor, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out.

Katz has emerged relatively unscathed from the chaos in Maine. Mamdani and Micah Lasher, the Democratic nominee for an Upper West Side-area congressional district, have both said recently they would continue to work with Katz. 

In the interview with Klein, the consultant said he would continue to fight establishment politics in the Democratic Party but that he had erred in his continued support of Platner. 

“I think that there are a lot of people who have made mistakes or said controversial things who we want to win the support of, who we need to earn the trust of. But I also think I was wrong,” Katz said in the interview. “There are a lot of incredible people who are not part of the political arena, a lot of incredible working-class Americans across the country, who don’t have those problematic Reddit posts or who don’t have a problematic tattoo or don’t have quite the level of controversy in their past.” 

Katz acknowledged that a more thorough vetting process may have found further evidence of Platner’s past social media posts, but insisted that any campaign vetting would not have found evidence of the rape allegation. 

“Essentially, there was the inclination that there were problematic posts on Reddit, not the full degree of what later came out,” Katz said. “An even more robust process would have found more of the specific Reddit comments and, potentially, the tattoo. But again, a standard vetting process probably doesn’t uncover most of the things that came after.”

Klein read to Katz one of Platner’s 2013 Reddit posts, which placed blame for sexual assault on women who drink too much. 

“I think it should have been a red line,” Katz said. He argued that people should “not be exiled from society and day-to-day life if they’ve changed or are putting in the work to change.” But, Katz added, “that doesn’t mean that they’re entitled to a role in elected office.” 

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said on Monday that Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi Totenkopf was “disqualifying,” weeks after Gov. Janet Mills’ departed from the Democratic primary race, leaving Platner as the party’s presumptive nominee challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). 

“I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,” Auchincloss told CNN. “I hope Maine voters agree with me. I think it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country.”

Jewish Insider reported last year that Platner had on at least one occasion identified the tattoo on his chest as a Nazi SS symbol, known as a “Totenkopf,” to a former acquaintance and had been fully aware of the tattoo and its meaning well before entering the race to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), even bragging about having it. 

Platner has since covered up the tattoo and dismissed wrongdoing, claiming he had no idea the tattoo symbol was a Nazi insignia when he got it with fellow Marines while in Croatia in 2007.

Far-left Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti, a cofounder of Justice Democrats who is mounting a bid for the seat being vacated by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), rebuked Auchincloss, writing on X, “Auchincloss is essentially endorsing Susan Collins in Maine. Absolutely no excuse for a Democrat in the House to back a Republican for Senate in a crucial swing seat. Auchincloss should be primaried. His primary election is September 1 in a safe, D+11 seat.”

Last year, Auchincloss became the first elected Democrat to call on Platner to drop out of the Senate race in Maine after news of his tattoo emerged.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has campaigned with Platner, dismissing criticism of him and describing him as “my kind of man.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has also defended Platner, saying “people should have second chances.”

Jordan Wood, a Maine Democrat who dropped his Senate bid on Wednesday to run for the seat held by retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), said in a recent podcast interview that he would reject contributions from AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group, joining a growing crop of Democratic candidates who have made similar pledges.

In the conversation with Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic activist, released last week, Wood pointed to what he called “a tremendous amount of distrust right now among Democratic primary voters that the money that AIPAC has put into our political system has affected our priorities when it comes to foreign aid to Israel.”

Graham Platner, a leading far-left candidate in the Democratic Senate primary facing Maine Gov. Janet Mills, has been a particularly hostile critic of AIPAC, which he has made a central focus of his anti-Israel messaging.

In a statement to Jewish Insider, Wood clarified that he does not “take money from AIPAC for the same reason I don’t take money from corporate PACs or lobbyists — because it guarantees voters trust that my policy positions and votes in Congress are not influenced by any campaign contributions.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC, Marshall Wittmann, dismissed that logic. “It’s outrageous to discriminate against pro-Israel Americans,” he said in a sharply worded statement to JI. “Ostracizing and making false accusations about fellow citizens’ democratic engagement to strengthen the U.S.-Israel partnership is contrary to American values and interests.”

“Our six million members will not be deterred by anti-Israel extremists, and their voices will be heard in the 2026 elections,” Wittmann said.

During the podcast interview, Wood stated that, even as he pulls away from AIPAC, “I do also still support aid to Israel,” albeit alongside “conditions on the continuation” of U.S. assistance, including “restrictions on offensive military weapons” to the Jewish state.

Wood, a former congressional staffer who was trailing his rivals in what has increasingly solidified into a two-person Senate race, declared on Wednesday that he was jumping into the open primary to succeed Golden, a moderate Democrat who has represented a GOP-leaning district for three consecutive terms.

The congressman said last week he would not seek reelection, writing he had “grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness” of American politics and that he and his family had faced “frequent threats” that ultimately contributed to his decision. 

Golden, a retired Marine, has been a dependably pro-Israel voice in the House and was endorsed by AIPAC before he announced he was stepping down.

“With Jared not running, it leaves open one of the most competitive House races in the entire country, and so I’m stepping up to take that on,” Wood said on Wednesday.

Matt Dunlap, the Maine state auditor, was already challenging Golden from the left before Wood, who embraced progressive stances as a Senate candidate, said he would enter the race. 

The primary field is expected to grow in the coming weeks as other potential candidates are floated, including Troy Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate currently running for governor, and Kirk Francis, chief of the Penobscot Nation.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, looking for more-moderate candidates in the field, is still recruiting even with Wood and Dunlap in the race, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the swing district, which backed President Donald Trump by a double-digit margin in 2024.