NRCC Accuses Kilroy of Ties to Socialists

Ohio Democratic Candidate for Congress Mary Jo Kilroy has ties to socialist groups, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) alleged Friday in a release.

The NRCC said Kilroy has appeared in a documentary about radical socialism and led a discussion at a 1997 conference of the Center for Democratic Values, a think tank associated with the Democratic Socialists of America, about arguing for public schools. The conference (an itinerary of which is available here) also hosted a number of speaker, including a debate between liberal and conservative intellectuals at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

“For days we have been hearing multiple denials from the Kilroy campaign about her socialist past, but now we know that not only did she run a newspaper with socialist extremists, but she also starred in a French socialist documentary and had a prominent speaking role at a conference for the largest socialist organization in the country,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain, who accused Kilroy of peddling an “extremist agenda.”

Kilroy has been locked in a tense race with Republican Steve Stivers in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, where Republican incumbent Rep. Deborah Pryce is retiring.

“By his bizarre and pathetic invocation of Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare, Steve Stivers is attempting to dupe voters by questioning a highly respected woman’s patriotism who has served her community with honor and distinction for 16 years,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesman Ryan Rudominer. The DCCC spokesman accused the Stivers campaign of “character assassination,” and Karl Rove-style political tactics.

A SurveyUSA poll earlier this week showed Kilroy with a 47-42 lead over Stivers, with a 4 percent margin of error. Stivers meanwhile picked up the endorsement of the local Columbus Dispatch several weeks ago.

–Michael O’Brien