Congressional candidate John Ward: Keep Puerto Rican evacuees from voting
The comments by Ward, who is running for
"I don't think they should be allowed to register to vote," Ward said of Puerto Ricans who moved to
His comments came in response to a question about government's role in helping
In the video, Ward later also said he believes the situation is improving in
"We should be looking to put the Puerto Ricans back in their homes, right? The idea that they can come to the mainland
"I am so upset at the fact that people treat the Puerto Ricans like they are second-class citizens. We are
Guzman said every candidate, Democrat or Republican, should denounce Ward for his comments.
A Republican state lawmaker, Rep.
"This is an outrage," Cortes said in a written endorsement. "No candidate for office in this great country should be so woefully ignorant of the
In contrast to Ward, Costello answered the question at the forum by saying: "I absolutely disagree. Puerto Ricans are citizens of
He continued, saying he doesn't want Puerto Ricans who have moved to
"I want them to understand they moved here for opportunity," Costello said. "They moved to
On Tuesday, Costello said the video speaks for itself.
Waltz does not appear in the video, which was shot toward the end of a forum hosted by the
Following Ward and Costello in the video, a woman audience member introduces herself as an attorney who studied in
"The fact that people from
Marx, who declined to name the woman, said other than her response, there didn't seem to be much chatter about Ward's comments as club members left that evening. "I didn't pick up on any buzz about what was going on," he said.
Three
Here are some of their comments on the Ward video.
--Soderberg: "
--Upchurch: "Puerto Ricans are American citizens and those who have made their home in
--DeSantis: "Puerto Ricans are
"It's shameful," Guzman said. "We have 2,000 residents (from
Ward responded to the criticism in a prepared statement he provided The News-Journal.
"I stand by what I said. I do not believe the
Ward reiterated his belief that the "state and nation" should provide resources and capital to help American citizens return to
"Home is where we all want to go, that is why home is called home," Ward said. "There is a difference between coming here temporarily, displaced by a natural disaster, and making a permanent life here on the mainland. Again, I welcome any Puerto Rican who wants to resettle here permanently and I want to do the work necessary to allow Puerto Ricans, that want to do so, to return home safely."
In a final note, misspelling Cortes' name, Ward added: "I wish
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