Kwame Raoul, Democratic candidate for Illinois Attorney General, was recently given a “false” rating by Politifact Illinois for his attack ads on his opponent, Erika Harold.
Raoul’s ad claims that Harold will discriminate against same-sex couples looking to adopt. However, Harold is on record “strongly” supporting same-sex adoption, according to a press release from Harold’s campaign.
“Raoul is lying about Erika Harold, because he can’t run on his own disastrous record,” Harold campaign spokesman Aaron DeGroot said in a press release. “His lies are particularly hypocritical because, as an attorney, Raoul literally argued in court to place neglected children back into an abusive home where a third child had already died.”
Kiannah Sepeda-Miller, a writer for Politifact, reports that Raoul’s attack ad “refers to something Harold allegedly said nearly two decades ago as a 19-year-old Miss Illinois contestant,” but that Harold’s views have evolved since then.
Miller also pointed out that the source for the comments remains unknown and that Aviva Bowen, a spokesperson for Raoul’s campaign, did not provide evidence that Harold is currently opposed to same-sex couples adopting children.
“Raoul’s campaign for Attorney General has yet to run a positive ad during the general election, running three negative ads since the primary,” DeGroot said. “They have dedicated over [$1 million] to these ads, which contain a claim that has now been fact-checked and rated “false” by Politifact Illinois.”
