State Rep Called 'Sexist' for Comparing GOP Candidate to Kim Kardashian

The New Hampshire Republican State Committee issued a press release Tuesday calling State Rep. Peter Sullivan (D-Manchester) "sexist" for comparing newly announced Congressional candidate Marilinda Garcia to Kim Kardashian.

Garcia, a Republican state representative from Salem, announced Monday that she will run for the 2nd District Congressional seat now held by Democrat Annie Kuster.

In her press release, NHGOP Chairman Jennifer Horn called on Kuster to denounce Sullivan "for using sexist language and imagery" against Garcia. In a series of tweets on Monday, Sullivan (@CitizenSullivan) referred to Garcia as "Al Baldasarro in stiletto heels, a lightweight and O'Brien clone," references to Londonderry Republican State Rep. Al Baldasarro and former House Speaker Bill O'Brien.

In another tweet, Sullivan again compared Garcia to O'Brien, saying "Bill O'Brien + Kim Kardashian = Marilinda Garcia"

"For too long women in our society have been judged by their appearance rather than their accomplishments and made subject to the ignorant assaults of men like Peter Sullivan," Horn said of Sullivan's tweets. "If our daughters are to have any chance of pursuing their dreams in a society that is free of fabricated limitations and unjust personal assaults then so-called leaders like Representative Annie Kuster must call upon her fellow Democrats to put an end to their offensive and chauvinistic rhetoric."

The Garcia campaign also issued a release on Tuesday afternoon, calling on Sullivan and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to apologize "for using in appropriate and sexist language" to attack the candidate.

"Using language that was obviously intended to belittle Rep. Garcia by using gender stereotypes, Rep. Sullivan has crossed the line," campaign spokesman Brad Stevens said. "Unfortunately, Rep. Sullivan's actions were not isolated. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wasted not time calling Rep. Garcia a 'radical' and an 'extreme' idologue."

In an email to Patch on Tuesday night, Sullivan called the ordeal "a laughable attack by a group of sad, silly and small people.

"Marilinda's supporters have emailed and messaged me to attack my wife and my family in grotesque and sometimes violent terms," he said. "It says a lot about her that her base of support is to be found among the bottom-feeders of the extreme right."

Emails to Kuster's office were not returned on Tuesday.