COLEMAN CAMPAIGN
ALLEGES
RUSSIANS INVOLVED IN
LT. GOV. RACE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
First
there was evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election in
North Carolina, when a Russian-backed “black” group attempted to exploit a
fatal police shooting in Charlotte to suppress the black youth vote.
Now,
the “Linda Coleman for Congress” campaign for the Second Congressional
District, is alleging that there was Russian meddling again, this time
targeting her 2016 campaign for lieutenant governor.
“…[S]taffers
for the Linda Coleman for Congress campaign discovered that the domain name for
Ms. Coleman’s Lieutenant Governor campaign website, LindaforNC.com, was
recently purchased by a Russian citizen,” the campaign said in a March 7 press
release. “We believe that this serves as further evidence that there is
significant efforts by foreign entities to significantly influence our
electoral processes and interfere with our democracy.”On Friday, Ms. Coleman, a former NC House member and chair of the Wake County Commissioners, who lost the 2016 race of lt. governor by a slim margin, held a press conference to make clear that her campaign has already been in touch with the FBI, State Board of Elections and the NC Attorney General’s Office.
"Underhanded
and deceptive strategies like this one only thrive when people choose not to
speak out about what they see before them," she said.
The
NC Democratic Party says it’s not aware of any other campaign in the state that
may have been affected by alleged Russian meddling.
Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of
the NC Republican Party, was markedly dismissive about Coleman’s claim, telling
a local Raleigh television station, "Seems like they should direct these
questions to the Clinton Campaign and the DNC, since they were conspiring with
the Russians."
Ms. Coleman is vying to become the third
African-American to represent North Carolina in Congress, hoping to join Rep.
G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1), and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC-12) if she’s victorious
during the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.
In the Democratic primary, Coleman faces
Gregory Chesser, Kenneth Romley, Japeth Matemu, and Wendy May.
The winner of that primary will face
Republican incumbent George Holding in November.
Last month, Derrick Johnson, pres./CEO of
the national NAACP, in a Feb. 20th statement, called for “…a
complete investigation” into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016
presidential elections.
“As important, we also call for a
thorough assessment of our election system to determine any potential
weaknesses that could allow for the suppression or interference of votes during
the upcoming midterm elections.”
Johnson
continued, “The midterm elections have the potential to shift the entire
balance of power in Congress, and it remains critical that the integrity of the
voting process cannot be questioned,” later adding, ““It is clear that the
Black vote has been targeted by both internal and external forces and the NAACP
is committed to challenging any attempt to reduce or diminish the political
power of the African-American community, communities of color and the nation as
a whole.”
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