Advisor to Maine Senate Candidate Confronted Former Staffer After Leak of Private Marital Messages

Morris Katz, a top advisor to Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign, sent a text message threatening to accuse former aide Genevieve McDonald of violating personal trust and sharing falsehoods if the Wall Street Journal published its reporting on Platner’s messages.

Katz wrote to McDonald: “Just want to be clear on where we are right now. ” McDonald left the campaign in the fall.

She said the Journal contacted her before publication as a courtesy call. After the Journal reached Platner’s campaign, Katz demanded she retract her comments and record herself telling the paper its reporting was inaccurate. The messages in question involved Platner communicating with up to six different women.

Amy Gertner, Platner’s wife, discovered the texts in the spring of 2025 and alerted McDonald in late August. Gertner had warned the campaign last summer about the exchanges. Platner’s campaign confirmed the existence of the messages.

Gertner described the disclosure as a betrayal and an invasion of privacy. She said she confided deeply personal details about her marriage to someone she considered a friend and trusted with the early days of their marriage before any campaign. Gertner also stated that their marriage is stronger than ever and that she knows the man she married.

Katz posted on X that the matter is “no one’s fucking business” and that there should be no place in politics for operatives who violate privacy and betray trust. Katz has advised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign and Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s campaigns.