Dirty tricks in negative campaigning reached a new low in the days before a Texas special election.
A robocall to Texas voters said Texas Republican congressional candidate Susan Wright “murdered her husband” by purposefully giving him the coronavirus in order to cash in on a life insurance policy and is “running for Congress to cover it up,” Politico reported. The source of the call is unknown, with nothing in the message identifying who paid for it, in an apparent violation of federal law.
Wright is running for the 6th Congressional District seat after her husband, second-term Rep. Ron Wright, who was 67 and battling cancer, died on Feb. 7. The special election to fill his seat is on Saturday, and Wright has received endorsements from former President Donald Trump and the fiscally conservative Club for Growth.
Her campaign reported the call to the FBI and the Department of Justice on Friday, the eve of the election, after supporters reported receiving the call.
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“This is illegal, immoral, and wrong. There’s not a sewer too deep that some politicians won’t plumb,” Wright said in a statement. “Imagine it: someone is attacking my late husband, the love of my life, a man who gave me such joy in life. I will not let darkness rule. I live by the light of Christ and his truth will sustain me — as it sustained me when I lost my husband.”
“Susan Wright murdered her husband. She [is] now running for Congress to cover it up,” a woman’s voice on the robocall said, citing “confidential sources.” It claims that Wright “obtained a $1 million life insurance policy on the life of her husband, the late congressman Ron Wright, six months before his death.”
“According to hospital administration at Baylor hospital, Susan Wright cheerfully confided in a nurse that she had purposely contracted the coronavirus from a friend after taking a test that confirmed she had the antibodies necessary to overcome the virus,” the message continued. “Susan Wright did this knowing full well that her husband, late congressman Ron Wright, was immunocompromised due to persistent complications with lung cancer. Baylor hospital has made a formal criminal referral to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and they have now opened a formal criminal inquiry into the matter. It is unclear whether this constitutes premeditated murder under Texas state law. It is clear that the vote of Texas the 6th Congressional district deserve to know the truth about Susan Wright and her involvement in the death of her husband.”
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“When we heard reports of this criminal smear of a voicemail attacking Susan, we immediately referred the matter to law enforcement and started cooperating with authorities,” Wright campaign consultant Matt Langston said in a statement. “Susan’s opponents are desperate and resorting to disgusting gutter politics because they know she’s the frontrunner. I’m looking forward to someone going to jail over these robocalls, but that’s a Sunday problem. On Saturday, we win.”
Saturday’s election is a “jungle primary” in which every qualified candidate from any party will appear on the same ballot. If no candidate wins 50%, a runoff election will be scheduled no earlier than May 24.
Here’s audio: https://t.co/0y1e90sTz9
— Alex Isenstadt (@politicoalex) April 30, 2021
