Gay candidate who slept with students says people calling for him to drop out are being homophobic

Mayor Alex B. Morse
Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

Alex Morse is the openly gay, four-term Democratic mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts who is currently running for Congress. Last week, he found himself ensnared in a college sex scandal. Now, he says he’s not letting his past sexual exploits ruin his political future.

The 31-year-old just announced that he has absolutely no intention of dropping out of the race after admitting to hitting on and having sex with multiple students at UMass Amherst, where he is a political science lecturer, as well from other schools in the Five College Consortium, while he was on the campaign trail.

Also, he says, anyone who wants him to end his candidacy is being homophobic.

Last Thursday, several students came forward to say Morse had connected with them on Tinder, Grindr, and Instagram, sending them suggestive DMs and, in some cases, propositioning them for sex following campus events.

The College Democrats of Massachusetts accused Morse of using “his position of power for romantic or sexual gain” and making many of the students feel “uncomfortable.”

In a statement issued Friday, Morse admitted to having “consensual adult relationships, including some with college students” and apologized “to anyone I have made feel uncomfortable.”

“I want to be clear that every relationship I’ve had has been consensual,” he said. “However, I also recognize that I have to be cognizant of my position of power.”

After admitting to the behavior, many called on Morse to end his candidacy, which, honestly, is not all that unreasonable. In the post #MeToo era, college professors should absolutely know better than to proposition students for sex.

Well, last night, Morse issued another, more forceful statement, this time insisting he’s not a sexual predator, that he hasn’t done anything wrong, and that he has absolutely no intention of ending his congressional campaign.

Wrote Morse:

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