St. Paul, MN – Minnesota Republican leaders are condemning posts made on social media by GOP House staffer and State House candidate Nolan West.
On Tuesday The Star Tribune unearthed several of West’s Facebook statuses as far back as 2008 where West promoted the Confederacy and denounced Lincoln saying he was,“the single worst president this country has ever seen.” The report claims that West posted other racist comments, as well as derogatory comments about women and gays.
His statements pose a problem for the Republican Party as West currently works for the Minnesota House GOP and is running for State Representative in Blaine, hoping to replace retiring Representative Tim Sanders (R-37B). Republican leaders are trying to control the damage via social media.
The scouring of social media posts of Republican candidates by news outlets including the Star Tribune is a common theme with this year’s election cycle coverage.
The reports have caused House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R – Crown) and Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota Keith Downey to condemn West’s remarks on Twitter. Late Tuesday evening Speaker Daudt tweeted, “I spoke to Nolan West tonight and shared my disappointment in his past comments on social media; they were inappropriate and wrong.”
Early Wednesday morning Chairman Downey echoed Daudt’s sentiments, quoting the tweet and saying, “Agreed. Nolan West’s past social media posts are unacceptable and contradict the very core of Republican values.”
The Star Tribune reports West said in an email, “I apologize for posting insensitive material,” and, “I’ve taken those posts down because they do not reflect who I am or what I believe.”
The Facebook link for West’s campaign page is currently down.
