Two Republican members of Congress from California are fighting against each other for political survival, and the intraparty spat turned especially nasty thanks to a scathing ad about a 1994 prostitution scandal.
Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert currently represent Orange and Riverside counties, respectively. However,an anti-Trump gerrymandering plotlast year by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom combined their two districts for this election cycle, making it one of the few safe GOP seats left in California.
The competition has been fierce, and both sideshave spent millionson ads accusing each other as not being conservative enough.
Kim’s most recent attack ad has caught political observers off guard for its “brutal” and “insane” relentlessness in attacking Calvert.
The ad starts by referencing a 2009 news article to imply Calvert is corrupt.
“But he’s not just swampy, he’s sleazy,” the narrator read. “Calvert got busted with a prostitute, pants down in his car, tried to flee then lied to police.”
“No wonder President Trump can’t trust Calvert,” the ad went on.
The negative campaigning between GOP Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert, who are both running in#CA40, is some of the most brutal I've ever seen:pic.twitter.com/nNcyTdKiJe
According to reportson the referenced incident in 1994, the rookie congressman was caught by police with unzipped pants. After a local newspaper sued for police reports, Calvert then confessed to the “extremely embarrassing” situation but insisted he never knew the woman was a prostitute and didn’t pay for sex.
He had apologized for his “inappropriate” behavior, said he will seek counseling and attributed the mistake to personal family trauma.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
