A Virginia Republican who lost his Senate primary bid earlier this year is alleging that white nationalist Jason Kessler, who is planning an anniversary “Unite the Right” rally in Washington, D.C., this weekend, left an offensive voicemail message for his Senate campaign staffers following his defeat.
{mosads}State Del. Nick Freitas (R), who was defeated by Corey Stewart (R) in the state’s Republican primary by a narrow margin in June, shared audio on Twitter on Saturday that he says was left on his campaign’s voicemail system after his loss.
In the 15-second clip, a man identifying himself as Jason Kessler congratulates Freitas on his defeat, before calling him an “open-borders, left-wing, Antifa-loving faggot.”
In an accompanying tweet, Freitas declares he has “never been so proud, to be so hated, by someone so ignorant.”
Kessler is expected to be in Washington this weekend for the second “Unite the Right” gathering of white nationalists and other far-right groups.
The rally will take place on the anniversary of last year’s violent rally in Charlottesville, Va., which led to the death of a counterprotester. Heather Heyer was killed and dozens more were injured after a car was rammed into a crowd of counterprotesters.
Stewart has drawn criticism throughout his campaign for his proximity to alleged white nationalists and his defense of Confederate statues. The GOP nominee won endorsement from President Trump earlier this year after defeating Freitas, who was favored by more moderate Republicans and who secured the endorsements of other Republicans including Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rand Paul (Ky.).
Stewart blamed negative press surrounding his campaign on Friday on “ass hurt” mainstream Republicans reluctant to rally behind his bid.
“There’s a whole slew of them,” Stewart told IJR. “And a lot of them are connected to my prior primary opponent.”
“I’m not going to blame him for that. It’s just that he’s got a lot of sourpusses out there who have an ax to grind because I beat their guy,” he added.