Turkavage calls for Grossman to back out of race

Robert Turkavage, once a candidate for the Republican nomination in the second congressional district, called for Seth Grossman, the Republican nominee, to drop out of the race.

Turkavage’s call comes after Grossman has faced fire for a series of statements and Facebook posts decrying diversity, calling Kwanza a fake holiday and sharing an article on a white supremacist website. Those same issues have caused the national Republican party to pull its support of Grossman.

“Based upon my personal interactions with him, I consider Grossman dishonest for fabricating quotes and attributing those quotes to me; mean-spirited in hurling insults which have become all too commonplace among many politicians in Washington; loose with the facts or inventing facts when he has no knowledge of same, and generally disrespectful of others who may not agree with his views,” Turkavage said in a statement.

The retired FBI agent also accused Grossman of misrepresenting the views of the former by claiming Turkavage called President Donald Trump “stupid” and said he was “never-Trump.”

Turkavage denies he said either, and he is so far alone among the district’s former Republican candidates in calling for Grossman to step down. Some of those candidates, including Sam Fiocchi and Brian Fitzherbet rallied behind Grossman after he won the nomination in June but have since stayed relatively quiet on the embattled candidate.