DSA members urge candidates to cut ties with Morris Katz

Democratic Socialists of America members circulated a letter urging candidates and elected officials to stop working with Morris Katz, the strategist tied to Graham Platner’s failed Maine Senate campaign and Zohran Mamdani’s political circle. The move put one consultant at the center of a larger fight over whether left-wing campaigns can keep using operatives who cross factional lines after a public collapse.

The letter, circulated on July 10, told DSA candidates and elected officials to “no longer contract or work with Morris Katz or Fight Agency, his political consulting firm.” It accused Katz of helping recruit Platner and of staying involved as the campaign unraveled under allegations involving a Nazi-symbol tattoo Platner later covered up, along with claims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Platner has denied the allegations. Katz is not a member of DSA.

Among the signatories were Wesley Higgins, the electoral co-chair for NYC-DSA, and Marianne Westfall, a Maine DSA leader. Their names gave the rebuke a wider reach inside the movement and showed that frustration with Katz was not limited to one local circle.

The criticism extended beyond Katz alone. The letter named Fight Agency and referenced consultant Rebecca Katz as part of what it described as a pattern of backing flawed candidates. DSA’s national organization said it had not seen the letter. Neither Morris Katz nor Rebecca Katz immediately responded to requests for comment.

The timing was critical in Maine. Platner had until July 13 to withdraw if Democrats were to replace him on the November ballot, and the Maine Democratic Party had until July 27 to choose and submit a new nominee. On July 7, Mamdani called on Platner to end his campaign, saying it was the “only appropriate response” after a rape allegation was reported.

Katz, who is 27, has been advising Platner since the launch of the campaign and was said to be flying to Maine to help manage the wind-down. He and press secretary Joe Calvello were among Mamdani’s top aides who played leading roles on Platner’s Senate bid, tightening the link between the New York political operation and the Maine race. That connection is now under sharper scrutiny as DSA members weigh whether ties to Katz are a liability or a necessity in the next round of left-wing campaigns.