John Lee, Republican candidate for Nevada’s 4th Congressional district, speaks to Republicans gathered for the Freedom Rally and Candidate Roundup at the Ahern Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday, May 23, 2024. | Source: Bill Clark / Getty
A Republican candidate for Congress in Nevada offered a stark reminder of how he truly feels about Black people just about a month ahead of an election in which he will face off against an African American.
In comments made last week as revealed by audio obtained by HuffPost, John Lee can be heard attacking incumbent Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, his Democratic opponent, and racially mocking the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for which Horsford serves as chairman.
Lee tried to downplay the CBC’s effect on the race for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District and said the group led by Horsford was “racist” for having dozens of members who are exclusively Black Democrats.
“They made him chair of the Black Caucus. Whoop-de-doo,” Lee said about Horsford during a campaign event on Sept. 23.
Lee then said that because he’s “from North Las Vegas” he’s “not worried about Black people. You know?”
Lee went on to conclude from his flawed logic: “So they’re the most racist people in the world.”
HuffPost noted that the Congressional district in which Lee is a candidate has a population that is 15% Black, suggesting he’s doing himself no electoral favors with prospective voters.
It’s not the first time Lee has offered white supremacist-leaning rhetoric, particularly about the CBC.
“The Nevada Republican has made other offensive comments about the Congressional Black Caucus,” HuffPost reminded its readers. “He called the group ‘stupid’ in November, and in August he compared it to having ‘a blond-haired caucus’.”
Horsford on Monday seized upon the leaked audio to issue a warning to voters.
“This is not a game, we must win in November,” Horsford posted on X, formerly Twitter. “John Lee does not represent our values and we will not let him represent us in Congress.”
In a separate post, Horsford warned voters.
“Unlike my opponent, I’m concerned with how ALL people in Nevada’s Fourth District are doing—including Black people, who make up 15% of our district,” Horsford wrote. “You cannot serve a district if you are willing to leave some of us behind.”
He continued: “John Lee’s comments are racist and more specifically, anti-Black. To disregard the Black community is egregious, especially given the political history of our country. It shows exactly where my opponent’s priorities lie, not with us, but with himself and only himself.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 2024. | Source: JIM WATSON / Getty
It was the second time in as many weeks that Horsford needed to shut down blatant anti-Black racism from a Republican.
After all, it was only last Wednesday — two days after Lee’s comments were made — when Horsford called out suspected white supremacist and Republican Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins‘ “hatred” for a racist social media post about Haitians.
In case you missed it, Higgins dug deep in his bag of racism when he posted disparaging remarks about Haitians in the U.S. while trying to lend credence to a widely debunked racist conspiracy theory championed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate JD Vance.
Higgins’ post came one day after a Haitian group filed a criminal complaint against Trump and Vance for helping to spread the nonsensical lie that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents’ pets and eating them.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild,” Higgins wrote in the post. “Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the Western hemisphere, cults, splatstick gangsters… but damn if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP.”
But Higgins wasn’t done.
“All these thugs better get their minds right and their ass out of our country before January 20,” Higgins dog whistled in the post while referencing the date of the presidential inauguration next year.
Higgins ultimately deleted the racist tweet, but not before it was preserved via screenshots that quickly went viral on social media.
It was in that context that Horsford on the House floor on Wednesday, called for Higgins to be formally censured.
“I would hope that every member of this body understands that no person, particularly those that contribute to communities, that are entrepreneurial, who give to our communities by being nurses and first responders and teachers – that those individuals, those children, no longer have to live in fear or intimidation because of any words and posts that come from members of this body,” Horsford said. “It is time to end hate and the rhetoric of hate and it is not becoming on any member to continue to push this type of rhetoric on any platform, let alone from the House of Representatives.”
Horsford later expounded on his intentions to censure Higgins.
“Today, Representative Clay Higgins used his official account on X to publicly spew hatred, fear, and intolerance against Haitians and Haitian Americans in an overtly racist post. Referring to Haiti as the ‘nastiest country in the western hemisphere,’ and denigrating Haitians with vile and demeaning terms goes against a foundational principle about our country: that America is a nation of immigrants where all are welcome,” Horford said in a statement sent to NewsOne. “We can only hope and pray that the misinformation and racist rhetoric spewed by former President Donald Trump, Senator JD Vance, Rep. Higgins, and other right wing MAGA extremists, do not lead to violence in any Haitian or immigrant community.”
Horsford added: “Every member of Congress must be clear that we need to eliminate hate in all its forms. It is time to turn the page on this pattern of denigrating and villainizing immigrants for political gain. Today, we have introduced a privileged resolution to censure Rep. Higgins and to make clear that bigotry and racism from a member of Congress is unacceptable.”
This is America.
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