LITTLE ROCK – A central Arkansas district court candidate is withdrawing from the race after acknowledging that he sent a text message containing a racial epithet.
Judicial candidate Kent Tester wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday that he is withdrawing from the nonpartisan race against incumbent Judge Susan Weaver in the district that covers Faulkner and Van Buren counties. The move comes a day after liberal blogger and Little Rock attorney Matt Campbell posted to his blog, Blue Hog Report, screenshots of a text Tester sent that contained a misspelled racial slur used against black people.
Tester said he would remove his campaign signs and online presence and apologized for using the word.
“There is no excuse or words to minimize how wrong the text was that was the subject of yesterday’s (Blue Hog Report) and how wrong I was for sending it, even if attempting to be sarcastic,” he wrote. “I apologize to all that I have offended by this incident, especially our African American community and women.”
Reached by phone, Tester declined further comment to The Associated Press.
Campbell said he applauded Tester for “what appeared to be a genuine apology.”
Campbell’s blog posts and related complaints to the Arkansas Ethics Commission and other agencies have led to the resignation of a handful of other public officials, including former Lt. Governor Mark Darr, as well as criminal investigations and dismissals of others.
Chris Powell, a spokesman for the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, said the office had not received Tester’s paperwork to officially withdraw from the race as of Tuesday afternoon.
Early voting for the March 1 election began Tuesday, and Powell said it was too late to remove Tester’s name from the already printed ballots.
Reached by phone late Tuesday, Weaver said she did not share the text messages with Campbell.
“I have tried to run a clean, honest campaign on the merits, and he’s done nothing but be dishonest and mean-spirited about my experience, ethics and competency,” she said.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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