Some progressive groups are distancing themselves from Alex Morse. But many aren’t.
The Holyoke mayor says he believes the allegations of inappropriate behavior against him were intended undermine his campaign against Rep. Richard Neal.
The recent allegations of inappropriate behavior against Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse couldn’t have come at a worse time for his Democratic primary bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Richard Neal. And with just weeks to go until the Sept. 1 primary and mail-in-voting already underway, some supporters are distancing themselves from Morse, who acknowledged having consensual relationships with college students in the past.
Others are steadfastly standing by the 31-year-old openly gay mayor.
Even as the University of Massachusetts at Amherst investigates whether Morse violated school policy by having a sexual relationship with students whom he oversaw as a lecturer, a growing number of groups say the timing of the accusations was not just unfortunate, but deliberately intended to undercut his campaign
“Alex has been running for Congress for more than a year and this letter was released one week before the first debate and three weeks before the primary,” the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political group that works to increase the number openly LGBTQ elected officials, said in a statement Monday.
“It is clear it was timed with the political calendar and without enough time for an independent investigation to be completed,” the group added. “That is a disservice to voters who want a progressive member of Congress but now only have time to make a decision based on vague and anonymous accusations.”
Morse launched his campaign last summer on the premise that Neal, the influential chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, wasn’t pursuing ambitious enough solutions to address the economic challenges plaguing many parts of his Western Massachusetts district. And his primary challenge attracted national support from left-wing groups, who view the 71-year-old longtime congressman as too friendly to corporations.
However, the allegations — first reported Friday by the Daily Collegian — that broke over the weekend caused some supporters to reassess.
According to a letter by the leadership of the Massachusetts chapter of College Democrats, Morse regularly matched with local college students on dating apps and used in-person events to add attendees on social media, which made some feel uncomfortable due to the power dynamics at play by virtue of his position — though it did not say he had any relationships with students he taught as a UMass lecturer from 2014 to 2019.
In the wake of the news, a spokesman for Our Revolution told Boston.com that the group was having conversations with its Massachusetts chapter about how to move forward with regards to it endorsement of Morse. Progressive Massachusetts was similarly holding a discussion among its board members.
Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party — two national progressive groups that have backed high-profile primary challengers like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley — have also refrained from either affirming or pulling their support.
However, the Sunrise Movement, a national, youth-led climate action group, announced that it would suspend campaigning for Morse “until further notice to give us time to learn more.” And its Western Massachusetts chapter voted to officially retract its endorsement of Morse, while continuing to oppose Neal, who they see as an opponent to the Green New Deal.
“Although we still strongly support the policies that Alex champions, including Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, we can no longer say that we trust him with the power of the MA-01 congressional seat,” the group wrote on Facebook.
But in a statement Tuesday, the Massachusetts Nurses Association said its board members voted to reaffirm it endorsement of Morse “after carefully considering all aspects of the information currently before the public,” as did a separate coalition of local progressive groups in Western Massachusetts, which said Tuesday it would be “disingenuous” to think the accusations were “not a political act intended to affect the outcome.”
They’re not alone, either.
Julian Cyr, a Democratic state senator from Cape Cod, said Wednesday that the unsourced nature of the allegations could have a “chilling effect on the willingness of LGBTQ people to run for public office,” even if granting anonymity to victims of sexual misconduct is a common practice.
“I am a big believer in listening to and thoroughly investigating complaints of abuse of power or sexual harassment, especially for those of us who hold public office, but unfortunately the timing of this letter seems to be dictated by a political calendar, not out of concern for revealing the truth,” Cyr said in a statement.
Morse himself released a statement Sunday saying that he never had a “non-consensual sexual encounter” or used his positions of power for “romantic or sexual gain.” In the statement, he also acknowledged that “some students felt uncomfortable with interactions they had with me.”
“I am sorry for that,” Morse said
But he also asserted that he was being held to a “different standard” as a gay man and, in an interview Monday night with WAMC, said he believes the Neal campaign had some involvement in the publication of the allegations.
Neal’s campaign has categorically denied that they have any involvement in the publications.
Still, the College Democrats of Massachusetts have faced skepticism in light of a $1,000 donation Neal’s campaign made to the group last November. And several former members subsequently told The Intercept that the chief strategist student group’s UMass chapter openly expressed hopes of working for Neal.
“I think this is what happens when you go against power,” Morse, whose campaign released internal polling from last week showing him within 10 percentage points of 16-term incumbent, told WAMC.
“This would not be happening if I wasn’t a candidate for Congress,” he said. “This would not be happening if I wasn’t on the verge of defeating one of the most powerful Democrats in this country.”
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