WYANDOTTE COUNTY — A 19-year-old Kansas House candidate who had been disowned by some Democrats for his incendiary social media posts and because he abused girls online when he was 14 years old now says he has decided to stay in the race for the 37th District seat.
On Sunday, Aaron Coleman announced he was dropping out of the race. On Tuesday morning, he issued the following statement:
"Last Monday, August 17th, I won my primary challenge against 7-term incumbent State Rep. Stan Frownfelter to become the Democratic Party nominee, and the only name on the General Election ballot, to represent Kansas’ 37th District in the State Legislature."
"I have never held elected office before. I am 19 years old. I grew up in poverty and today I work as a dishwasher. When I was a child I lived in a broken home and there were many times when there was no food in the house and I went hungry. My story is similar to that of countless others in my district. Voters do not throw out a 7-term incumbent for a person like myself unless they are deeply frustrated with their lack of representation and demanding a change."
"I won because voters decided that the policies I believe in - providing universal health care coverage through Medicare for All, stopping evictions and investing in public housing, taking action against polluters and funding a Green New Deal to create jobs, and fixing the broken school system that failed me - would improve their lives," Coleman's statement continued.
"I won because, along with my campaign volunteers, I spent months knocking on doors, talking to the people of my working-class community, and convincing them that I would do a better job of advocating policies to improve their lives than the corporate-funded incumbent who largely has ignored them and left them to struggle. That’s how democracy should work."
"From the moment I won, I have endured sustained attacks. These attacks against me were far more than I bargained for. I obviously did not expect to have my entire personal life, especially what I did in middle school, put under that kind of national microscope. Combined with the hardships my family is facing - my older brother committed suicide last year, my father is quite ill, and we all are under serious economic suffering from the Covid Great Depression - I decided it would be best for myself and my family not to put them through this any more, so I said I would withdraw."
"But since that announcement, I heard from many of the people who voted for me urging me not to drop out. They said that they did not vote for me expecting that I was a perfect person. They told me that all of us have sinned, and we all make mistakes. They said they voted for me because they believe I am committed to doing what politics is about: advocating policies that improve the lives of ordinary people, of working people, of those like me and those like them."
"My withdrawal would immediately return to power the same corporatist, out-of-touch 7-term incumbent that voters just rejected. They did not only vote for me but they voted for my platform and for change for our community. We cannot undo democracy because I am a flawed individual who has made mistakes. That is not fair to those voters. They deserve to have a choice this November."
"So I’m staying on the ballot, and staying in the race as the Democratic nominee. I will spend the rest of the time until the election talking to the people in my community about what they need, and how I can serve."
"If anyone is interested in helping, to make a statement against corporatist politics and these kinds of attacks against working class people who challenge it, please visit my ActBlue page. The corporate interests have vowed to pour a lot of money into the incumbent’s write-in campaign, and I will need support to bring my message to voters, who deserve to hear all sides, not just the side of the rich. Ultimately this race will not be decided by the New York Times, or by party bosses in Topeka, and certainly not by affluent white collar professionals on the coasts who couldn’t care less if working people in Kansas have their decision to throw out a corrupt incumbent ignored. This race will be decided by the voters of Kansas’ 37th District this November. I will do everything I can to earn their support and improve their lives."
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Kansas House candidate who had been disowned by some Democrats for his incendiary social media posts and because he abused girls online when he was 14 years old announced Sunday that he is dropping out of the race.
In a series of tweets, Aaron Coleman said he was abandoning his campaign. Earlier this month, he defeated veteran Rep. Stan Frownfelter in the Democratic primary by 14 votes in their Kansas City, Kansas, district.
Coleman tweeted that he “made the decision to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for HD 37 so I can focus on caring for my family.” Coleman also said his father is hospitalized.
Coleman confirmed to The Associated Press that he was dropping out, but he declined to answer questions. He instead pointed to an interview with the Wyandotte Daily newspaper in which he said he would submit a letter to the Kansas secretary of state withdrawing from the race because of medical hardship.
Heather Scanlon, chief of staff to House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer of Wichita, said there was a “sense of relief” that Coleman was ending his campaign.
Coleman garnered headlines for a social media post suggesting he would “laugh and giggle” if a former GOP state lawmaker died of COVID-19 and another post endorsing abortion up to the moment of birth. He apologized for the comments afterward.
In a Facebook post in June, he said allegations that he engaged in online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn were true. He said his past behavior targeting several middle-school girls was that of “a sick and troubled” 14-year-old.
After losing in the primary, Frownfelter said he was launching a write-in campaign to retain the seat he has held since 2007. No Republican candidate is on the ballot.
Local Democratic Party officials will choose Coleman’s replacement.