GOP House candidate Ted Howze (Calif.) got terrible news on Thursday after the California Republican Party announced that is pulling its endorsement of embattled over inflammatory and bigoted social media posts, according to Politico.
The decision came after the news outlet “revealed social media posts from Howze’s personal accounts that derided Muslims, disseminated conspiracy theories and insinuated that Democratic elected officials were guilty of murder.”
“Mr. Howze’s social media posts recently revealed through news reports are disgraceful, disgusting and do not represent the values we hold or the Party we are building,” California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement, Politico reports.
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Emmer of Minnesota reproached the posts publicly, and the NRCC rescinded Howze’s inclusion on a slate of promising candidates.
Rep. Josh Harder (D) claimed California’s 10th congressional district in 2018, defeating GOP then-Rep. Jeff Denham to help Democrats complete a sweep of competitive Republican seats.
The public renunciation underscores the risk that a growing scandal could hurt the Republican’s chances to win back a seat they lost in 2018.