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Democrats win Virginia redistricting fight, threatening Republican House majority
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Democrats scored a major victory Tuesday when Virginia voters narrowly passed a congressional redistricting referendum that could give the party a significant boost in the battle for the U.S. House of Representatives majority in this year’s midterm elections, The Associated Press reported at 8:49 p.m. ET.
The ballot measure gives the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature — rather than the state’s current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.
The referendum, which follows President Donald Trump’s push for rare but not unheard-of mid-decade redistricting in Republican-led states, would give the Democrats four additional left-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms as the party tries to win back control of the chamber from the GOP, which currently holds a razor-thin majority.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who in many ways became the face of her party’s push to pass the ballot initiative, said in a statement that «Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress.»
«Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box,» the governor said.
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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks during a Virginians For Fair Elections canvassing event in Woodbridge, Va., on April 18, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin emphasized that «Virginians refused to let Trump play games with Americans’ right to fair representation.»
But Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that «Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality. This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander. That’s exactly why the courts, who have already ruled twice to block this egregious power grab, should uphold Virginia law.»
And Hudson predicted, «Even under this map, Republicans will hold our majority based on our record cleaning up Democrats’ mess and a historic war chest to litigate the Democrats’ failures.»
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Ryer said in a statement, «I know we are disappointed by tonight’s result. Evidently, a sufficient number of Virginians trusted the blatantly dishonest language the Democrats placed on the ballot to make our Commonwealth the most severely gerrymandered state in the nation.»
The standalone spring referendum capped months of political crossfire and court battles, sky-high early voting turnout and tons of national attention and money poured into the ballot box showdown.
Even though a majority of voters gave the ballot initiative a thumbs-up, it still faces legal challenges.
The Supreme Court of Virginia allowed the referendum to move forward after a lower court struck it down. But legal challenges to the referendum, filed in part by the Republican National Committee, the NRCC and the state GOP, remain unresolved and are still before Virginia’s highest court.
Republicans had railed against the Democrat-backed referendum.
«It’s the most partisan map in America,» former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin told supporters at his final campaign stop in northern Virginia on the eve of the election.
Pointing to the Democrats pushing new maps, Youngkin charged, «What they are doing is immoral.»
Teaming up with Youngkin to crisscross the state in leading the GOP opposition to the ballot initiative was former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who told the crowd the Democrats’ map is one that «you draw when you’re drunk with power.»
BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, right, and former state Attorney General Jason Miyares lead a chant of «no» as they lead Republican efforts to defeat a Democrat-backed congressional redistricting referendum April 20, 2026, in Leesburg, Va. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of their final election eve rally, Miyares charged that «Democrats want to take away the voices of millions of Virginians and gerrymander the state.»
Youngkin, pointing to the duo’s relentless campaigning in recent weeks, said, «What we’re hearing over and over and over again is Virginians want fair maps. And what the yes vote represents are unfair maps.»
And the two Republicans reiterated their charge that the referendum was an «unconstitutional power grab» by Spanberger and the Democrats who control the state legislature.
As Youngkin and Miyares spoke in Leesburg, Trump took to the airwaves on a popular Virginia-based conservative talk show and later teamed up with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to urge voters to defeat the referendum.
Pointing to congressional Democrats, Trump warned that «if they get these additional seats, they’re going to be making changes at the federal level.»
SPANBERGER FACES ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ BACKLASH AHEAD OF CRUCIAL ELECTION
President Donald Trump headlined a tele town hall on the eve of Virginia’s congressional redistricting referendum urging voters to cast a ballot against the initiative. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Democrats countered that the redrawing of the maps was a necessary step to balance partisan gerrymandering already implemented by Republicans in other states at Trump’s urging.
«By voting yes, you have the chance to do something important — not just for the commonwealth, but for our entire country,» former President Barack Obama said in a video released Friday on the eve of the final day of early voting. «By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms.
«By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field. And we’re counting on you.»
The video by Obama was the former president’s latest effort for the referendum. He had previously appeared in ads released by Virginians for Fair Elections, the Democrat-aligned group working to pass the ballot initiative.
OBAMA GOES ALL IN ON HIGH-STAKES REFERENDUM THAT MAY IMPACT MIDTERM ELECTIONS
But Virginians for Fair Maps, the leading Republican-aligned group opposing redistricting, used past comments by Obama against political gerrymandering in its ads opposing the referendum.
«Because of things like political gerrymandering, our parties have moved further and further apart, and it’s harder and harder to find common ground,» the former president said in an old clip showcased in the spot.
Republicans pointed to comments from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a former Virginia governor and former chair of the Democratic National Committee, who acknowledged over the weekend in a «Fox News Sunday» interview that the new maps don’t represent Virginia’s partisan breakdown.
«Ninety percent of Virginians are not Democrats, that’s true,» Kaine said.
But Kaine added that «about 100% of Virginians want election results to be respected.»
SOROS-BACKED GROUP AMONG LIBERAL ORGS PUMPING EYE-POPPING CASH INTO VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING EFFORT
And Republicans took aim at Spanberger, who won November’s gubernatorial election by over 15 points as Democrats also captured the lieutenant governor and attorney general offices.
«Abigail Spanberger told everybody last summer that she had no interest in redistricting, and then the first bill she signs is a bill to enable the gerrymandering of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginians don’t like this and that’s why independents and a lot of Democrats are voting no too,» Youngkin told Fox News Digital.
Minutes later, Youngkin told the crowd that Spanberger is «trying to disenfranchise millions, millions of Virginians.»
Republicans trained their redistricting firepower on Spanberger since a poll two weeks ago by The Washington Post indicated that the new governor’s approval rating was barely above water, with the highest unfavorable rating for a new Virginia governor in two decades.
«She’s an unpopular governor with an unpopular agenda, and she lied to the voters,» Miyares charged.
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, left, and former state Attorney General Jason Miyares, speak with Fox News Digital on the eve of Virginia’s congressional redistricting referendum in Leesburg, Va., April 20, 2026 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
And Miyares and other top Republicans accused Spanberger of pulling a «bait and switch.»
Spanberger, in an ad in support of the referendum, said she was backing the measure because «it’s directly in response to what other states decide to do and a president who says he’s quote entitled to more Republican seats before this year’s midterms. Our approach is different. It’s temporary. It preserves Virginia’s fair redistricting process into the future.»
Supporters of redistricting dramatically outraised and outspent groups opposed to the referendum, with Virginians for Fair Elections outraising Virginians for Fair Maps by a roughly three-to-one margin. Much of the funding raised by both sides came from so-called «dark money» from nonprofit public policy groups known as 501(c)(4) organizations that are not required to disclose their donors.
Despite the Democrats’ funding advantage, recent polling suggested support for the ballot initiative was only slightly ahead of opposition amid a surge in early voting, which ended on Saturday.
«They have outspent us three to one. They’ve raised over $70 million. And yet this is a close vote,» Youngkin said.
Pointing to the ads in support of the referendum, Youngkin said Virginians «aren’t believing the mistruths. They aren’t believing the lies on TV. They’re actually doing the work themselves and understanding that a no vote is for fair maps and a yes vote is for the most gerrymandered maps in America.»
And Miyares emphasized that Democrats «outspent us, but we have the truth.»
Virginia is the latest battleground in the high-stakes fight between Trump and the GOP and Democrats over congressional redistricting.
Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.
The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, «Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.»
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.
But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.
Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night news conference at a California Democratic Party office in Sacramento Nov. 4, 2025. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.
The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.
Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.
In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.
Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.
Florida is next up.
Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session that kicks off April 28.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 22, 2025. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.
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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.
But it is very much up in the air when the court will rule and what it will actually decide.
midterm elections, virginia, republicans elections, democrats, house of representatives, democrats elections, donald trump
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PORTLAND, Maine – Some of the leading contenders in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine are amplifying calls to abolish ICE after a fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in the northern New England state.
Hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday shot and killed a man in Biddeford, which is located about 15 miles south-west of Portland, four of the candidates joined hundreds of protesters who marched by the shooting site.
The shooting comes as the battle to replace Platner is heating up, and will likely boost immigration as an issue in a crucial Senate race that may determine the Senate majority.
«I think we are at the point where ICE needs to be abolished,» Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Fox News Digital. «ICE in its current form has shown itself incapable of doing its job.»
PLATNER EXITS SENATE RACE AMID SCANDALS AND CHORUS OF CALLS TO DROP OUT
A vehicle is transported on a flatbed near the scene of a shooting involving US immigration and customs enforcement, Monday, July 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, speaking with reporters, said, «This is not acceptable in America. A young man, a dad, has been killed by ICE…This must stop. We need to get ICE out of the streets.»
Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, took to social media immediately after the shooting to write, «Abolish ICE.»
Jackson held a sign at the protest that called for abolishing ICE, and reiterated that he’s been calling for the dismantling of the agency for months.
Paige Loud, a social worker and former congressional candidate who has also launched a Senate bid, also attended the protest.
«We must abolish ICE and prosecute the leaders of these operations that are destroying communities,» she said in a social media post.
The incident in Maine is the second in a week when ICE agents have used deadly force, following the fatal shooting during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas.
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A woman holds a sign reading «ICE OUT OF HOUSTON» during a vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national fatally shot by a federal immigration agent a day prior, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Mark Felix)
The latest incidents are reigniting protests and scrutiny of federal agents months after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the beginning of the year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Those shootings drew weeks of national coverage and sharp debate over President Donald Trump’s ramped-up deportation efforts amid his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Maine attorney general’s office, which is investigating Monday’s shooting along with the FBI, said initial statements suggest the motorist who was the target of the enforcement operation was attempting to flee in the direction of an ICE agent.
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Protesters lay flowers at a makeshift memorial following the fatal shooting by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine on July 13, 2026 (Kailey Schuyler / Fox News)
Two immigration advocacy groups said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number.
The shooting in Maine came three days after Platner ended his campaign amid mounting controversies and allegations of sexual misconduct that he had repeatedly denied, and a chorus of calls from top Democrats in Maine, the nation’s capital, and across the country to drop out of the race immediately.
A populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, Platner was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.
Seven Democrats have filed to run for the nomination, which will be determined by roughly 600 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party.
Graham Platner speaks at his Primary Election event on June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)
Collins said in a statement following the shooting that «a full and impartial investigation of what happened» was needed.
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Hours later, Collins said in another statement that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin «informed me that the Boston office of the DHS Inspector General has taken over the investigation of the Biddeford shooting in cooperation with the FBI.»
One of Collins’ Senate offices is located in Biddeford, and protesters marched to the office to chant, «Vote her out.»
maine, graham platner, markwayne mullin, politics, immigration, midterm elections, senate
INTERNACIONAL
Revelan que Israel intentó reclutar como espía al iraní Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, que firmó el memorándum con Cristina Kirchner
A principios de 2024, el rector de la universidad Ludovika de Budapest, Gergely Deli, recibió una sorprendente petición de un alto funcionario de Hungría. El funcionario le dijo que la universidad debería organizar una conferencia sobre el cambio climático e invitar a un invitado inesperado: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, el expresidente de Irán, ampliamente repudiado.
Aún más impactante fue el motivo. El funcionario le dijo a Deli que la conferencia era simplemente una tapadera para que Ahmadinejad mantuviera conversaciones secretas en Budapest con agentes de Israel. Deli sabía que la invitación podría empañar la reputación de la universidad. Sin embargo, afirmó que creía que podría estar contribuyendo a salvar vidas. “Tienes dos enemigos, y si estos enemigos quieren hablar entre sí, lo mejor es hacer todo lo posible para que hablen”, declaró.
La visita de Ahmadinejad a la universidad en 2024 y una segunda en 2025 formaron parte de un esfuerzo israelí que duró varios años para prepararlo como un activo de inteligencia que, llegado el momento, podría ser instalado como el nuevo líder de Irán, según funcionarios estadounidenses e iraníes familiarizados con la operación, que hablaron bajo condición de anonimato para describir información de inteligencia sensible.
Para Israel, reclutar a Ahmadinejad era una prioridad tal que el entonces jefe de los espías israelíes, David Barnea, viajó a la capital húngara en 2024 para reunirse con él, según exfuncionarios de EE.UU. Poco después, el Mossad, el servicio de inteligencia exterior de Israel, notificó a la CIA que había estado en contacto con el iraní.
La decisión de Israel de construir un plan de cambio de régimen en torno a Ahmadinejad supone un giro extraordinario en la saga de las relaciones del país con el expresidente, conocido por acelerar el programa nuclear de Irán, pedir la destrucción de Israel y negar el Holocausto.
Según funcionarios estadounidenses, en los últimos años Israel pagó en secreto dinero a Ahmadinejad para cubrir sus gastos de alojamiento y viajes, y agentes israelíes se reunieron con él en el extranjero en varias ocasiones, incluso durante sus viajes a Budapest. El esfuerzo culminó a finales de febrero de este año —en los primeros días de la guerra entre EE.UU. e Israel contra Irán- con una audaz operación para reubicar al exlíder, quien vivía bajo estricta vigilancia en Teherán. El objetivo: poner en marcha el plan para derrocar al régimen actual e instalar a Ahmadinejad. El plan fracasó.
El 28 de febrero, un ataque aéreo israelí impactó el complejo de Ahmadinejad, teniendo como objetivo el edificio de sus guardaespaldas y su vehículo blindado. Tras el ataque, según cuatro altos funcionarios iraníes, un Peugeot negro recogió a Ahmadinejad y lo trasladó lejos de la caótica escena.
Funcionarios estadounidenses e iraníes afirmaron que el coche había sido conducido por agentes del Mossad, quienes llevaron a Ahmadinejad a una casa de seguridad secreta en Irán. Pero el iraní estaba molesto por la frenética operación de rescate y parecía estar desilusionado con el plan israelí para devolverle al poder Finalmente, abandonó la casa de seguridad en circunstancias aún no claras. Ahmadinejad no volvió a ser visto en público hasta el lunes pasado, cuando hizo una breve aparición en la procesión fúnebre del asesinado líder supremo, el ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Su situación actual sigue siendo incierta. Sin embargo, cuatro altos funcionarios iraníes afirmaron que Ahmadinejad está bajo custodia del servicio de inteligencia de la Guardia Revolucionaria, en arresto domiciliario ahora que Irán tiene conocimiento de gran parte de sus interacciones con Israel.
Israel no se ha pronunciado sobre el plan para instalar a Ahmadinejad como líder de Irán, que formaba parte de un intento más amplio de derrocar al régimen. Otro elemento del plan consistía en armar y entrenar a las fuerzas de la oposición kurda para que cruzaran al oeste de Irán, controlaran el territorio y, finalmente, avanzaran hacia la capital, Teherán.
El plan de cambio de régimen implicaba una “secuencia de operaciones especiales, muy, muy singulares, que se suponía que debían llevarse a cabo”, declaró Tamir Hayman, exjefe de inteligencia del ejército israelí al programa de PBS “Firing Line” en mayo, luego de que The New York Times revelara detalles sobre el papel de Ahmadinejad en el plan. “Ahmadinejad -dijo- formaba parte de esa secuencia”. Los funcionarios del Mossad no respondieron a pedidos de comentarios. Tampoco Ali Javanfekr, portavoz de Ahmadinejad.
Como presidente de Irán ( 2005 y 2013) Ahmadinejad fue el político de línea dura más prominente. Abogó por la eliminación de Israel y en su mandato, Irán despertó sospechas de que estuviera desarrollando un programa secreto de armas nucleares. [Es conocido en la Argentina por haber firmado el memorándum de entendimiento sobre la AMIA con Cristina Kirchner en 2013. Teherán mantuvo conversaciones secretas con el ex ex canciller Héctor Timerman, que derivaron en la firma del pacto con Irán en Etiopía en 2013. Este acuerdo establecía una “comisión de la verdad” integrada por figuras internacionales que iba a tomar declaración en Irán a los acusados iraníes de ser autores intelectuales del atentado contra la AMIA de 1994, que dejó 85 muertos. En rigor, buscaba garantizar la impunidad. El pacto fue declarado inconstitucional en Argentina]
M.Mazzetti, J.Barnes, F.Fassihi y R.Bergman
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Mamdani breaks silence on ‘perverted’ ally who helped sell Platner before scandal-plagued collapse
Maine Senate candidate’s top strategist laughs at vetting process
Dan Moraff, top strategist for Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, laughs when asked about his vetting process, admitting their firm missed controversial details. Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley criticizes the strategists for being ‘unserious,’ questioning the damage to public trust. Turley emphasizes the severe implications of the failed vetting on Democratic Party credibility and the integrity of the election.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that he will continue to work with Morris Katz, one of the leading political consultants behind Graham Platner’s doomed bid for Senate.
«I will continue to work with Morris Katz, he remains a top advisor of mine,» Mamdani said at a news conference on Monday.
Many of Katz’s fellow Democrats lambasted him after Platner withdrew from the race following a rape accusation – which Platner denied – from an ex-girlfriend, arguing that Katz failed to do his due diligence before promoting Platner to party leaders. Some in the party are now calling for him to be blacklisted from future political operations.
Katz and his consulting partner, Daniel Moraff, ignored multiple requests from their own vetting team to dig deeper into Platner’s past over concerns of possible scandals, a source familiar with the early stages of the Platner campaign previously told Fox News Digital. The duo paid just over $6,000 for a three-day vetting job, something that usually takes weeks and costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Morris Katz, 27, has been widely credited with helping New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani complete his upset victory last year against Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
PLATNER’S THREE-DAY VETTING JOB COMES BACK TO HAUNT DEMS AS RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS SENATE BID
In addition to a rape accusation, Platner also attracted scrutiny over a trove of controversial deleted Reddit posts, a Nazi-linked tattoo he acquired while serving in the military and his alleged mistreatment of women.
The reporter asking Mamdani about Katz cited a letter circulated by the Democratic Socialists of America urging their political allies not to work with him.
KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION
Democratic Senate nominee in Maine Graham Platner and his wife speak with supporters following his primary night victory speech, in Blue Hill, Maine in June 9, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)
«Morris Katz is one of the chief parties responsible for the catastrophic campaign of scandal-ridden Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner,» the letter reads. «Billed as a top adviser to the campaign, Katz helped recruit Platner and supercharged his candidacy with slick video production, friendly media placements and political connections.»
Democratic sources claim that Katz pitched Platner as a potential successor to an elderly Sen. Bernie Sanders and a potential presidential contender — a characterization he now denies.
After Platner announced his intention to suspend his candidacy, Katz wrote on X that «as soon as the team became aware of the rape allegations against Graham Platner we advised he suspend his candidacy, and in the following days worked to wind down the campaign» and that he was «deeply disappointed.»
PLATNER AIDE HIT WITH BRUTAL TIMELINE CHECK AFTER CAMPAIGN DENIED RAPE CLAIM, THEN FOLDED DAYS LATER
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a primary-night watch party for congressional candidate Claire Valdez at 99 Scott Studio on June 23, 2026, in Brooklyn. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
A community note attached to his post points out that Platner’s campaign initially denied the rape allegation.
Katz also threatened former Platner staffer Genevieve McDonald in an attempt to dissuade her from cooperating with reporters seeking to cover Platner’s alleged emotional abuse of women.
«Just want to be clear on where we are right now,» Katz wrote in the message obtained by the Bangor Daily News. «If the story goes in its current iteration we’ll communicate directly on the record, and by name, that Genevieve violated the personal trust of Amy and Graham and shared explicit falsehoods to sabotage the campaign.»
Katz also faced criticism earlier this year over a puberty book he previously authored.
The political consultant authored a book in 2020 that bills itself as a «puberty book» for «curious boys» aged 10 to 12. Sections of the book include «Your New Penis» and «The Magic of Masturbation.»
In a footnote on page 15 of the text, Katz wrote that he planned to «use images of my penis» to show children how genitalia develop during puberty, but that publishers shot the idea down for being «inappropriate.» Conservative critics swiftly condemned him over the remark, with Katz later saying the comment was joke.
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«Only a perverted freak would say that,» wildly popular conservative X account «Libs of TikTok,» which is operated by Chaya Raichik, posted to X in March.
«Morris Katz’s musings about exposing himself to ten-year-olds are absolutely disgusting,» the National Republican Senatorial Committee said of Katz back in March as news of the footnote spread.
Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.
zohran mamdani, new york city, politics, midterm elections, graham platner
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