“Pork barrel politics” hit a new low this week when Second District US Congresswoman Renee Ellmers was caught on video telling a woman outside a voting precinct in Dunn that she had gotten fat.
Ellmers was walking into the precinct to vote Tuesday morning when she saw Maggie Sandrock, the former chairperson of the Harnett County Republican Party. Sandrock had previously campaigned for Ellmers but not this year, as she was supporting Ellmers opponent Rep. George Holding.
A WNCN cameraman captured Ellmers as she told Sandrock, “You’re eating a little too much pork BBQ. Whoo.”
Sandrock who says she wasn’t surprised by Ellmers comments said the Congresswoman had “become a mean girl on steroids in my view” since going to Washington, D.C. “I would consider her a friend, but certainly not a good one. Good friends don’t tell you you’re fat or getting fat.”
Ellmers was defeated by Holding, who carried 53 percent of the votes.
As of Friday, Ellmers had not apologized to Sandrock for her comments.
This is not the first time Ellmers has made a questionable statement. During an interview with talk show host Laura Ingram she called the radio host “small minded” and “ignorant” for opposing amnesty. A video surfaced in 2014 of Ellmers arguing with Tea party officials in Randolph County telling them, “You don’t have any damn facts.” An audio clip of Ellmers also surface a year ago where she reportedly said that men should dumb things down so women could understand.
