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GOP candidate sues party leaders over racist attack ads

A Chinese American Republican candidate in Florida is suing leaders of his own party following “racist” attack ads connecting him to the Chinese Communist Party.

Bowen Kou is running for State Senator in District 13. The Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee funded the political mailers and TV advertisements, reports Triangle Sun.

The ads read ‘Why are Chinese donors flooding Bowen Kou with cash? The ad singles out donors with Chinese surnames.

“I have never received any political donations from China or members of the CCP. I had to flee communist China because they persecuted me for my Christian beliefs,” Kou said to Florida Politics. He says most of the donors with Chinese surnames are Chinese Americans and most live in the state.

He is suing both the committee, a political arm of the Republican Party, and Florida Voice for its article about the accusations.

News6 political analysts Jim Clark says its highly unusual for the Republican Party to go after its own.

“This is the state senate president raising money. They usually raise lots of money, then they direct it to campaigns where they think it’s necessary,” Clark said. “Usually those campaigns are against Democrats, not fellow Republicans. And so this is kind of unusual that they are getting involved in primaries. This is something fairly new for Republicans.”

The Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign has endorsed Kou’s opponent, Keith Truenow. The FRSCC did not respond to requests for comment and Truenow has not disavowed the ads.

“Look, I’m just trying to put out there that people need to look into their candidate,” he told News6.

“I am being persecuted for being of Chinese descent,” said Kou to Triangle Sun. “It’s very racist and completely unfounded. These dirty tactics should not be used against fellow Republicans.  I think that the FRSCC have done this because they desperately want Truenow to win.

“Around 80% of Truenow’s campaign is funded by lobbyists and special interests. I worry about the safety of the donors who support me who have Chinese last names. I believe that this puts them and their families in danger by being associated with me.”

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1 COMMENT

  1. This says a lot about Republicans on so many levels. Did Bowen Kou think he would be exempt from Anti-Asian hate just because he is a Republican? Does “dirty racist tactics should not be used against fellow Republicans” mean it should be used on Democrats? A true leader would denounce any use of racism and xenophobia PERIOD.

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