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GOP Senate candidate retains party backing, despite condemnation of social media posts

Lauren Witzke for Delaware / Facebook
Witzke at a Delaware GOP rally on Sunday

The Delaware GOP hasn’t buckled to calls to revoke support for its U.S. Senate candidate Lauren Witzke after controversial social media posts.

 

The controversial posts related to the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg earned Witzke criticism from people on both sides of the aisle.

 

 

The post that sparked controversy before it was removed and re-posted without the picture by Witzke

Delaware Republican Party chair Jane Brady says they won’t ask Witzke to step aside, or disavow her campaign, but adds she needs to work on addressing the harm this caused.

 

Witzke, however, contradicted Brady’s comments. While she claims she didn’t make the post, she says she won’t apologize for it and 100 percent supports it.

 

“I don’t understand why people pander and cave to the opposition in order to get them to like us, they’re never going to like us. So I’m gonna stand firm in what I ran on and what got me the primary win and I won’t back down.”

 

Witzke adds she’s even considering posting more of the same after taking back control of her social media accounts on Friday.

 

Brady told Delaware Public Media she’s heard nothing but negative feedback from voters she’s talked to, and says this undoubtedly has hurt Witzke’s campaign. 

 

“I think a lot of people now understand she didn’t see it before it was posted but it’s been all negative,” says Brady. “I find it reprehensible, you know, it’s offensive, tasteless. It was inappropriate, absolutely.”

 

Witzke refuses to back down, saying she supports the posts written by a campaign staffer and says the party needs to change.

 

“Well the truth of the matter is that the Delaware GOP keeps losing and they think they can beat the liberals by becoming more liberal and that’s not gonna be the case, this is war.”

 

Witzke says she’s not interested in trying to bring members of the party who are turned off by her campaign message to her side.

 

After winning her Republican primary by 13 percentage points, Witzke faces an uphill climb to unseat incumbent Sen. Chris Coons, who won re-election in 2014 with 56 percent of the vote in a heavily Democratic state.

Roman Battaglia grew up in Portland, Ore, and now reports for Delaware Public Media as a Report For America corps member. He focuses on politics, elections and legislation activity at the local, county and state levels.
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