Former Democratic congressional candidate Moe Davis is under fire from his own party for tweets he’s made about Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn.
Davis is being criticized for making jokes about Cawthorn’s disability and for calling mountain residents "hillbillies."
The NC-11 Democrats released a statement Sunday condemning the tweets.
Davis, appearing to show no remorse, said the tweets achieved his objective.
"I can’t say that I’m surprised. This is something the Democrats seem to excel at is forming a firing squad when anything unpopular happens. But I’m not a candidate, I’m not running, not speaking for the party, speaking for myself," Davis said.
But NC-11 Democrats chairman Matt Ballance said Davis is more than just a private resident. He said Davis has a large social media following and is the party’s most recent nominee for District 11.
"Using someone’s disability in a demeaning fashion to further a message is completely unacceptable," the NC-11 Democrats' statement said in part.
"The people of this district have fought the stereotype for many years that our area is filled with ignorant hillbillies," the statement continued.
NC-11 GOP chairwoman Michele Woodhouse also sent News 13 a statement criticizing Davis' tweet.
"I commend NC-11 Democrat Party chair Matt Ballance for denouncing yet another vile personal attack by failed Democrat congressional candidate Moe Davis," Woodhouse's statement said in part. "Chairman Ballance and I agree that NC-11 will not tolerate hate speech from Davis and the Democrat Party."