Strategist says Reddit posts and tattoo disqualified Platner

Morris Katz, the lead strategist for former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, publicly acknowledged on Friday that multiple controversies that emerged early in the campaign should have disqualified his candidate. In an interview on The New York Times podcast "The Ezra Klein Show," Katz expressed regret for his role in defending Platner, who ended his Maine Senate campaign earlier this month following a sexual assault allegation.

"In hindsight, knowing what we know now, the Reddit posts alone probably should have been enough or should have been enough," Katz said. "The tattoo should have been enough. The initial New York Times story on troubling behavior should have been enough." He conceded that a lot of the critiques and anger directed at the campaign were valid and that he was wrong to have dismissed them.

Platner suspended his campaign on July 8, two days after Politico published a report in which a former romantic partner, Jenny Racicot, alleged he had sexually assaulted her in 2021. Platner has denied the allegation. The report led key allies, including Senator Bernie Sanders, to withdraw their support.

Prior to that final allegation, Platner's campaign had...