The heated and hotly contested campaign that could see the first African-American elected governor of Georgia has been targeted by a white supremacist group, which sent recorded racist messages out to voters in the state.
The robocall, audio of which was posted on social media, features a man attempting to impersonate former talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned for Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia last week. The voice refers to Winfrey as "the magical negro" whom the "Jews who own the American media" used to "trick dumb white women" into doing what they wanted.
The heated and hotly contested campaign that could see the first African-American elected governor of Georgia has been targeted by a white supremacist group, which sent recorded racist messages out to voters in the state.
The robocall, audio of which was posted on social media, features a man attempting to impersonate former talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned for Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia last week. The voice refers to Winfrey as "the magical negro" whom the "Jews who own the American media" used to "trick dumb white women" into doing what they wanted.
The group is run by Scott Rhodes, a neo-Nazi featured in the videos who is believed to be behind racist robocalls made earlier this year about the death of Mollie Tibbetts. Tibbetts, 20, was an Iowa woman whom authorities say was murdered by an undocumented immigrant. The calls denounced comments from Tibbetts' family members who said her death should not be used to justify hate against Latinos, the Des Moines Register reported.
Rhodes is also believed to be behind racist robocalls in August that targeted Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who is also African-American.
"It is not surprising that in a race that has consistently been very close, we've seen several weeks of increasing desperation from many dark corners trying to steal the election, cheat, lie, and prey on people's fears rather than having the respect to listen to voters and speak to their hopes," Abrams spokeswoman Abigail Collazo said in a statement.
Abrams' opponent, Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, denounced the calls as "vile" and "absolutely disgusting" in an email to The Hill.
"I stand against any person or organization that peddles this type of unbridled hate and unapologetic bigotry," he said.
Collazo dismissed Kemp's repudiation of the calls.
"It’s disturbing that after months of racist, sexist and inaccurate attacks against Stacey Abrams, Brian Kemp has only now suddenly decided to find a conscience as polls are tightening and Georgia voters are making it clear that they reject the kind of hate he and his allies have been spewing around the state," she said.
Abrams has accused Kemp of "voter suppression" because his office rejected many voter registration applications based on an "exact match" criteria. Abrams has said the rejected applications were disproportionately from African Americans. Kemp has denied the allegation.
On Friday, a federal judge issued an injunction that will allow 3,141 people to vote Tuesday, after Kemp's office removed them from the rolls under the "exact match" law. The judge expressed "grave concerns" about "the differential treatment inflicted on a group of individuals who are predominantly minorities."
President Donald Trump traveled to Georgia Sunday to campaign for Kemp.
