File this under “what women candidates have to deal with.”
New Hampshire State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, R-Hillsborough, wrote last Friday that Congresswoman Ann Kuster, D-N.H., would lose her election because she is “ugly as sin.”
Beginning his blog post at New Hampshire Insider with a “trigger warning,” Vaillancourt, recalled a poll he once saw that said attractive candidates enjoy a “seven to ten-point advantage over a less attractive (or even an unattractive) candidate.”
Kuster is in a race against Republican Marilinda Garcia.
Nonetheless, Vaillancourt spent two paragraphs describing Garcia’s beauty.
“In New Hampshire’s second congressional district, if I may be so bold as to speak the truth, Republican Marilinda Garcia is one of the mot [sic] attractive women on the political scene anywhere, not so attractive as to be intimindating, [sic] but truly attractive.
“How attractive is Marilinda Garcia? You know how opposition ad makers usually go out of their way to find a photo of the opponent not looking his or her best. Well…Democrats and Annie Kuster supporters can’t seem to find a photo of Marilinda Garcia looking bad at all.”
Vaillancourt then asked if any doesn’t believe that Kuster is “ugly as sin” and hoped he hadn’t “offended sin.”
Vaillancourt then asked: “How ugly is Annie Kuster?” He went on to describe a bar in Montreal where “a rather attractive drag queen” stands outside many nights.
“Annie Kuster looks more like a drag queen than most men in drag,” wrote Vaillancourt, who is openly gay.
Will Vaillancourt’s comments have repercussions for Garcia? Maybe. Not because he and Garcia are especially close, but because the comments are too good not to use against a Republican.
Huffington Post author Laura Bassett already tried to contact the New Hampshire Republican Party and Kuster’s campaign for comment. Neither Vaillancourt nor Garcia responded immediately to a Washington Examiner request for comment.
UPDATE: Garcia released a statement condemning Vaillancourt’s comments:
“State Rep. Vaillancourt’s recent comments about Rep. Ann Kuster are sexist and have absolutely no place in political discourse. Both Rep. Kuster and I have experienced this unfortunate reality of being a woman in politics,” Garcia said. “I hope that as time moves forward and more female candidates run for political office around the country, people will focus on the content of our ideas rather than what we wear and how we look.”
