Schrier calls for more civility in wake of anti-Semitic political ads
Nov 8, 2018, 5:43 AM | Updated: 5:46 am
Congressional candidate Kim Schrier speaks with a reporter at an election night party for Democrats, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Bellevue, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Political groups were being called out for sending anti-Semitic ads the lead up to the midterm elections, and Democrat Kim Schrier was among the targets.
Schrier’s Republican opponent Dino Rossi conceded the race for the 8th Congressional District Wednesday. Before the election, The Washington Post reported that a range of Jewish candidates from Alaska to North Carolina were featured on mailers sent to voters ahead of the elections. The mailers all have similar imagery — they’re holding wads of money, which many point out plays on offensive stereotypes of Jewish people. The imagery is noted in the wake of a tragic and fatal display of anti-Semitism at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Schrier said that the ads came out shortly before Tuesday’s election, so she was preoccupied with last minute campaign efforts. Early counts Tuesday evening showed Schrier with 53 percent of the vote — a 6 point lead over her Republican opponent Dino Rossi.
“I didn’t respond, but I’ll tell you I wasn’t surprised,” Schrier told KIRO Radio. “And I’ll tell you we all want more civility, and respect, and inclusivity. And I will work on that.”
That could be an uphill battle with everything from online trolls peddling fake information with the intention of inciting ire, and a president who doesn’t always set a civil example himself.
“Those voices are very loud, but I think that most people in this country do not agree with that,” Schrier said. “And I think that if we have a Congress that’s willing to stand up to a president with this kind of rhetoric, we can set a better model.”
“I also think that a lot of women are running and we want that civility for our children, and children all over this country,” she said. “So we will set that tone.”
Schrier has said that while many may be calling for an impeachment of President Trump, she has other priorities that she will be focusing on, such as health care, prescription drug costs, and campaign finance reform.
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