FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           CONTACT: Jason Shepherd

September 17, 2020                             Chair@CobbGOP.org

Cobb GOP Chair Calls on Caroline Holko to Immediately Withdraw from State House Race After Racist Remarks Surface

Demands Cobb Democrats Join the GOP in Condemning Candidate's Racist Remarks

MARIETTA, GA – Cobb County Republican Party Chairman Jason Shepherd is calling on Democratic State House candidate Caroline Holko to immediately end her campaign for State House and withdraw from the ballot after the Atlanta Journal Constitution brought to light racist slurs posted by Holko on a blog in 2009.

According to the AJC, Holko, who is challenging Marietta Republican State Representative John Carson for the District 46 seat, wrote, “I do not agree that (n-word) should be banned from collective speech — I don’t hold with censorship of ANY kind, and if that means I have to occasionally listen to some (expletive) use mean words, so be it.”

“There is no question that she must immediately end her campaign for state house and withdraw from the ballot,” said Cobb GOP Chair Jason Shepherd. “There is no place in a community as diverse as Cobb County for an elected official who denigrates anyone based on their race.”

Holko has told the media she no longer holds those views and has “evolved,” however, Shepherd questions why at 35, she was still publicly saying things online like, “but the fact still remains that I have never been mugged by a white person.”

“Holko hasn’t ‘evolved,’” said Shepherd, “She just got caught. She is trying to spin this to save her political career, and it is not working.”

As the story has now gained national attention on FoxNews.com, Shepherd is also questioning why Cobb County’s other Democrats remain so silent.

In 2019, the Cobb County Democratic Party remained silently supportive of Erica Thomas when she told a Cuban immigrant to ‘go back to where he came from’ after falsely accusing him of accosting her, now Shepherd believes it is past time for Cobb Democratic Chair Jacquelyn Bettadapur, and elected officials like Lucy McBath, David Wilkerson, and the rest of the Cobb Democratic leadership need to finally stand up and stop being silent about the blatant bigotry that seems to run amuck in the Cobb County Democratic Party.

However, State Rep. Erick Allen (D-Smyrna) is openly supporting Holko telling the AJC, “what was said in 2009 is disturbing, I’ve worked with Caroline the last couple of years in the Cobb Democratic Party and I know that is not reflective of the person who she is today.”

Shepherd sees Allen’s comments as just another indication of Democratic hypocrisy. “Just like with Joe Biden’s often racist remarks and long voting record, Cobb’s Democrats are just planning to excuse Holko, like they did Erica Thomas, and sweep her bigotry under the rug if it will help them win,” said Shepherd. “Thankfully, Cobb County voters know better.”  

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