RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Republican Party has withdrawn support from a legislative nominee after a website connected to him said God is a racist white supremacist and Jews are descended from Satan.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported the party announced Tuesday it will not support Russell Walker, GOP nominee for state House District 48. State chairman Robin Hayes said in a statement the party would support local candidates who better reflect party values.
"Based on recent behavior and previous statements, the North Carolina Republican Party is unable and unwilling to support the Republican nominated candidate for North Carolina House District 48," Hayes said in the statement.
Walker captured the Republican primary by defeating John Imbaratto with 824 votes, or 65 percent of the votes cast, in the May primary. He faces seven-term incumbent Democrat Garland Pierce, who is black and who ran unopposed in his party's primary.
No one answered a call to a phone number listed for Walker Wednesday.
The website "What is wrong with being a white supremacist? God is a racist and a white supremacist." It also says, "The Jews are not Semitic they are Satanic as they all descend from Satan." The newspaper reports that Walker writes for the site.
It is not clear whether Walker owns the website, but he is noted as author of essays and articles that have appeared there. The Southern Poverty Law Center says the site, www.christdescendedfromjoseph.com is his.
"Someone or group has to be supreme and that group is the whites of the world ... someone or something has to be inferior ... In all history in sub-Saharan Africa, no two-story building or a waterproof boat was ever made," an article on the website says.
On his campaign website, Walker said he was given an "A'' rating by the National Rifle Association and supported by at least two other pro-gun organizations.
Also on his campaign website, Walker said he is suing the Hoke County News-Journal because it wouldn't print his letters to the editor. Ken MacDonald, the paper's editor, wrote that Walker holds frequent protests outside the newspaper's office with signs which said, "What is wrong with being a racist" or "God is racist."
Walker also filed a lawsuit last year challenging the decision to remove a Confederate flag from a South Carolina courtroom. The lawsuit was thrown out. He told a Charlotte television station that the flag was a religious symbol to him.
On his campaign page, Walker compared his Democratic opponent to wallpaper, saying "He looks good, is there but is absolutely useless."
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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
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