After he used an analogy about 2020’s presidential election’s rape and his daughters, both parties condemned the Republican candidate for Michigan’s House of Representatives seat.
Robert Regan is a favorite to win Michigan’s District 74 seat. He made the comment on a livestreamed panel Sunday to respond to an assertion that it was too late to reverse the election results.
“That’s almost like having three children. Regan stated that rape is something I always tell my daughters. “That’s not how it rolls. This is not how we won the election.
The Rescue Michigan Coalition hosted the panel and video of it was still available on Wednesday.
He continued to draw parallels between his victory in the Republican primary and the biblical story of David and Goliath. He also noted that his opponents received more financial support.
Amber Harris, a Republican activist, and fellow panelist, told Regan during stream that his analogy had been a “shameful observation.”
Harris stated, “Advice your daughters: Don’t do that.” “Fight every day.”
The Michigan Freedom Fund is a conservative nonprofit organization that released a statement calling Regan’s comments ” deplorable & disqualifying.”
“I am the mother of four little girls. Tori Sachs, Executive Director, stated that she teaches her children every day to be independent, to value themselves and to resist creeps like Regan. “RJ Regan isn’t right anywhere near the state Capitol, and that is why he was endorsed and supported by us.”
Ron Weiser, Chairman of the State Republican Party, and Rob VerHeulen, Chairman of Kent GOP, addressed “comments” made in by Regan in a Joint Statement Tuesday . However they didn’t give any specific remarks.
Weiser stated that “Mr. Regan has a history of making foolish, egregious, and offensive comments including his most recent one” “We are better as a party than this and I expect better from our candidates.”
State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (Democrat, District 19), chair of the Michigan Progressive Women’s Caucus condemned Regan’s comments Monday via Twitter.
Pohutsky stated, “I have been in a situation that rape was inevitable. I can assure this man that it is not enjoyable.” “This man is disgusting, and I hope HD 74 doesn’t send him to Lansing.” Although I wouldn’t usually say this about people I might end up working with but he is truly horrible.”
Regan described the backlash against himself as “villainous attacks” on his reputation in an emailed statement sent to NBC News Wednesday. Regan claimed that his comment was “truncated”, and had been taken out of context.
Regan stated, “In retrospect and knowing now how vicious my attackers were, I regret using a analogy that could have so easily been taken out of context.” “My point was simple: When there are alleged inpropriety, even though the outcome seems certain, we must fight back to investigate so justice can be served and our votes don’t get diluted.”
He refuted the statements made by VerHeulen and Weiser, claiming that neither man had contacted him for clarification on his remarks.
Regan stated in the statement, “Now I understand what President Trump felt when his biggest enemies were his own party; and I’m not even a Trump endorse candidate.”
MLive, Monday Regan stated that he didn’t want to associate a “stolen electoral” with rape. His point was more about fighting back “because nobody loves to be taken advantage.”
“I’m getting pushback because I’m not the only one who believes we should decertify the 2020 elections. Regan stated that everyone on the panel agreed it was inevitable. Let it go, it’s dead. We need to focus on 2022 moving ahead. “And I’m like: “No, it’s never inevitable. It’s not something you would tell your daughter. Instead, you’d say it to her and let her enjoy it.
Donald Trump falsely claimed that his loss to President Joe Biden was due to voter fraud, even though there isn’t any evidence. , a Trump appointee and former Attorney General William Barr, stated to The Associated Press, December 2020, that there was no evidence of widespread fraud by the Justice Department.