Chris Janicek, the Senate candidate who lost the support of the Nebraska Democratic Party this week after sending a sexually explicit text message about one of his campaign staff members, has also made racist comments in the past, according to four people who knew him or heard about the comments at the time.
Peggy Jones, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, told The New York Times that at a mutual friend’s party in Omaha about 20 years ago, while she was waiting in line to get food at a buffet table, Mr. Janicek turned to another person and said something like, “Who’s this N-word here,” using a variation of the slur and indicating Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones, who is black, said that while she did not recall the full sentence with certainty, she remembered clearly that Mr. Janicek, who is white, had called her a “niglet” — a slur she had never heard before. While she and Mr. Janicek had mutual friends, she said, they had never interacted before that remark.
“I definitely remember him calling me that and saying it in front of me so I could hear him, pretty unapologetically,” Ms. Jones said. “I was caught off guard. I was hurt. I was mad. I still remember how I felt. I don’t remember every detail, but I remember how I felt.”
Her account was corroborated by three people, one of whom was at the party and said he heard the remark himself, and two of whom Ms. Jones told about the incident within days. All of them said they remembered Ms. Jones being clearly upset.
In response to a description of Ms. Jones’s allegation, Mr. Janicek said: “None of the story you presented is true. I do not know these women nor have I ever met them. I’m denying any and all accusations.”
Mr. Janicek, an Omaha bakery owner, won the Democratic primary last month to challenge Senator Ben Sasse, the Republican incumbent, for what is considered a safe Republican seat. On Monday, leaders of the Nebraska Democratic Party voted unanimously to withdraw support for his campaign after a former staff member reported that he had sent a sexually explicit text to her and four others.
In that text, sent on June 4, Mr. Janicek suggested — after referring to the staff member by name — that the campaign should “spend some money on getting her laid” and added, “It will probably take three guys.” The woman’s lawyer, Vince Powers, shared a screen shot of the message with The Times on Tuesday on the condition that her name be withheld.
In a subsequent text to the same group of people, Mr. Janicek apologized for his “tasteless statements.”
Mr. Janicek has so far refused to drop out of the race, and there is no legal process to remove him from the ballot against his will — though the state party’s formal withdrawal of support means he no longer has access to any of its money, voter files, events or other resources.
The party is urging him to file paperwork to remove himself from the ballot; if he does that, party leaders will have until Sept. 1 to choose a replacement.
“The N.D.P. remains clear and united in our call for Mr. Janicek to get out of the Senate race,” Jane Kleeb, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said when informed of the new allegation. “The Democratic Party does not tolerate the abusive language Chris texted to a staff member. We stand with men and women who are now telling stories of harm Chris has caused.”
Dave Whitaker, a friend of Ms. Jones’s who was at the party, said that he had been standing near her in the line and heard Mr. Janicek use the slur, and that the remark was in line with Mr. Janicek’s reputation at the time.
“He had a history of making racial jokes and racist jokes and then saying ‘I’m just kidding’ if somebody got offended by it,” Mr. Whitaker said. “He was pretty well known for doing things like that. A lot of times people excused his behavior because he was a cake maker, so he would always bring cakes to parties — you know, ‘He’s kind of a racist, but he makes really good cakes.’”
Two other friends, Jono Anzalone and Kennedy Rogers, confirmed that Ms. Jones had told them about the remark soon after the party. Mr. Anzalone also said, independently of Mr. Whitaker, that Mr. Janicek had a reputation “of being very crass,” and that he had avoided Mr. Janicek’s bakery because of that.
Even so, Ms. Jones and her friends said they had been shocked by the unabashed racism of Mr. Janicek’s remark.
Ms. Jones, who teaches and writes about black, women’s and gender studies, said she viewed the episode in part through the lens of her own work, which focuses on language and identity.
“I know how important language is,” she said. “I know how language gets weaponized, and he weaponizes language, and he does it from a position of privilege and power.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
