The campaign of a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in Michigan darkened the skin tone of a black Republican candidate in a public solicitation for donations, drawing immediate criticism from the House Republican campaign arm.
Carl Marlinga is running to flip Michigan's 10th Congressional District. posted a black and white photo of Congressman John James In X, a photo that made James' skin appear darker than it actually was was next to a full-color image of Marlinga.
“We were less than 2,000 votes away from flipping Michigan's No. 10 blue in 2022. No one saw it coming,” Marlinga said as part of his pitch. His ActBlue pagefeaturing the same dark imagery of James.
“In 2024, we will finish the job. Michiganders deserve it. Let's get involved,” said the nonpartisan Cook Political, which calls the race against James “the third-closest House race in the country.”・Added report headings as well.
In a statement to the Post, the National Republican Congressional Committee condemned the campaign's decision to alter the photo and called on Merlinga to return any donations he received from the effort.
NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said, “Karl Merlinga is revealing his true colors to us and it is abhorrent.” “He should apologize and refund the funds raised through this despicable initiative.”
Merlinga's campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Campaign mailers and donation pages have been the subject of controversy in the past due to provocative or ethnic depictions of candidates.
In November, now-expelled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was accused by the Republican Party of distributing fliers depicting Jews, one of his potential Democratic opponents, with enlarged noses. He blamed his colleagues.
“These images are abhorrent propaganda images used by the Nazis.” [sic]'' the 35-year-old congressman said at the time, slamming the Nassau County Republican Party for approving an image of Democratic House candidate Josh Lafazan grinning and clutching cash.
During his 2022 campaign, far-left Rep. Jamaal Bowman of the Bronx and Westchester also accused his Republican opponent of artificially darkening his campaign photos.
“Being Black in America means consistently dealing with many forms of racism, and this is one of them,” Bowman said in a statement at the time. “There is an ugly history behind the distortion of faces to spread hatred and contempt for political purposes.”
Merlinga's donation page also called James “too extreme for the state of Michigan,” which has been a key issue for Democrats since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June 2022. is referring to the Republican's comments on abortion when he ran for Senate.
James replaced Marlinga in the same year after unsuccessful bids to unseat Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in 2018 and 2020, respectively. He lost by 1,600 votes.
Michigan's 10th Congressional District has not had a Democratic representative since 2003, when former Rep. David Bonior retired, and the party aims to regain control of the House majority in 2024. It is one of several seats.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee expanded on comments James made during these campaign events, including claims that the Roe decision paved the way for “genocide.” MLive.com reported.
Marlinga also attacked James.It's out of alignment” and discussed this issue with voters.
Marlinga, a former state judge, was indicted on bribery charges in 2004 for allegedly helping a defendant get a new trial on rape charges in exchange for donations to his 2002 congressional campaign.
A federal grand jury acquitted him of all corruption charges in 2006.
Mr. James, a nondenominational Christian who defends his position as “100% pro-life,” is banking on his 2024 campaign to succeed in his first term in Congress, which provides federal funding for local infrastructure projects. focused.
“This is what happens when you put veterans and former businessmen in Washington,” he said. mentioned in the October campaign video.“To cut through the BS and say, 'I'm not going to make excuses,' because the people at home are counting on me.”
