Oconee GOP: House District 117 Race Robo Calls Not Associated With Party
Candidate Regina Quick's campaign says it's also not responsible for the calls.
Photos
Robo calls over the weekend claiming to be associated with the Oconee County GOP are not related to the organization in any way, Chairman Jay Hanley said in a news release Monday.
The news release came in response to "numerous reports from citizens" saying they had received calls regarding the Georgia House District 117 race.
Callers were told the polling came from "Elaine from Watkinsville Republicans" and it asked them to respond to a question about the primary race between incumbent Doug McKillip and challenger Regina Quick, the release noted. Respondents who chose McKillip's name heard negative information about him, but if they selected Quick's name, the caller was reminded to vote in the primary election on July 31.
"The Oconee County Republican Party has not, and as policy, does not endorse candidates in contested primaries," the release states.
Did you receive one of the robo calls? Tell us about the experience in the comments below.
According to Hanley, in a released statement:"We condemn the use of this 'push poll' tactic, particularly when it is falsely made out as if it's coming from the Oconee County Republican Party."
"This race should be decided on each candidate's qualifications," he continued. "If Ms. Quick's campaign is responsible for this call, we demand that the campaign cease and desist with the identification of 'Watkinsville Republicans' in the call and end the calls altogether."
"If her campaign is not responsible for the call, we call on her to join us in condemning the call and push polling tactics," he said.
The following post on Regina Quick's Facebook page states the campaign is not responsible for the calls.
"There is someone making autocalls from a 719 exchange saying they are a 'Watkinsville Republican.' Let me assure you, its not our campaign. If you hear about it, please let your friends know."
You might also be interested in reading:
State House Candidates McKillip and Quick Debate Party Allegiance, Again
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Xardox
5:09 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
We knew this was going to be a particularly nasty year in politics, and we ain't seen nothin' yet.
John Elliott
3:34 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The push poll that is written about in the press release on the Oconee GOP page and here, that came from area code 719, called my house and was completely negative towards Regina Quick and never mentioned Doug McKillip. This sounds like a tactic of a candidate that has more money than they know what to do with, (maybe someone that has raised $229,000 dollars from the Speaker of the Ga House's buddies) like maybe a candidate that has never voted in a Republican Primary until this year, after being elected to the 2 highest post in the Democrat party, a candidate named Doug McKillip.