Top Democratic strategist Morris Katz, who has worked on multiple high-profile campaigns, is under scrutiny after a passage in a children’s book he co-authored raised disturbing questions, and allies connected to him are facing tough questions about judgment and oversight.
Morris Katz is a behind-the-scenes adviser whose name shows up on several Democratic campaigns, including work for Ruben Gallego, Zohran Mamdani, Tom Steyer, and others. He has also been involved with Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn and Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, and he helped craft messaging that some on the left praise as savvy and relentless.
Katz co-founded Fight Agency in 2024 with Rebecca Katz and Eric Stern after managing Gallego’s Senate bid, and he promotes his record aggressively. He publicly boasts, “As comfortable in Philadelphia union halls as he is in auto shops in Nebraska, Morris is always on the lookout for nontraditional candidates that are willing to take on tough fights.
fights. He was the lead media strategist on Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for Mayor of New York City, helping orchestrate the strategy and making the ads that turned a state assemblyman into a national progressive leader. In 2024, he was a key advisor behind Dan Osborn’s groundbreaking independent campaign for US Senate in Nebraska, which outperformed the top-of-the-ticket by 14 points.” Osborn ultimately lost to Republican Deb Fischer in 2024.
Before he became a political operator, Katz and his mother published a book for boys about puberty in 2020 titled “Everything You Wanted to Know About PUBERTY — and Shouldn’t Be Googling: For Curious Boys.” That book contains a passage on page 17, amid illustrations, that has prompted alarm: the text reads, “At first, we were going to use images of my penis to get this point across, but the publisher said it was inappropriate, so here we are.”
At first, we were going to use images of my penis to get this point across, but the publisher said it was inappropriate, so here we are.
The sentence has landed Katz in a political firestorm because it involves a children’s topic and a claim about exposing private images. Katz declined to comment on that specific passage to a March 2026 Politico article, though he has defended the line elsewhere by calling it a “joke.” The juxtaposition of campaigning for vulnerable constituencies while authoring such a passage is fueling skepticism among opponents.
Ruben Gallego, who has used Katz’s services, is already being pressed about his association with the consultant as he contemplates national ambitions. Gallego has publicly hinted at weighing a 2028 run, stressing the need to win back Latino voters and balancing family considerations, saying, “Obviously, like any other elected official, especially ones that won red states in 2024, we have to look at it,” and laying out a target for Latino turnout in 2028.
“Obviously, like any other elected official, especially ones that won red states in 2024, we have to look at it,” Gallego said. “No matter who runs, even if it’s not me, the candidate that wins in 2028 is going to have to get the Latino vote back to at least 62%. That is the ‘Pass Go’ line, collect $200 on the Monopoly board. We didn’t hit that in 2024 and that’s why we find ourselves in this situation.”
Just one year into his Senate tenure after a bitter 2024 campaign against Republican Kari Lake, Gallego, 46, a father of three, said there are several considerations he must still make as he weighs a potential presidential bid. Chief among them was getting approval from his family and determining whether he could take on a national campaign and still be a present father.
“I have three kids — for now. We’re a young family. We might want to have more,” Gallego said. “I have to look at it to make sure that I’m actually going to be good at it.”
He said he also has to consider that “if someone else can win this, then there’s no reason for me to be egotistical about this.”
Republicans and concerned voters are not satisfied with vague defenses. The party pushback is sharp and direct: “Ruben Gallego needs to explain to Arizonans whether he knew about the disturbing statements made by his top political advisors. Arizonans deserve to know if Gallego plans to continue to take advice from someone who tried to expose himself to children,” said RNC Spokesman Nick Poche.
That statement frames the political problem plainly: association with advisers who have troubling public records or questionable judgment can damage a candidate’s credibility. For a senator considering a presidential bid, the scrutiny only intensifies and the questions mount about vetting and message discipline.
The episode underscores risks for campaigns that rely on hard-charging consultants who may bring baggage from other parts of their lives. Voters expect answers about judgment and accountability, and in a tight political environment those answers often determine whether a candidate can expand beyond a regional base.
