ME-SEN: Mamdani adviser heads to Maine to sort out Senate mess [View all]
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
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