Eskamani denounces Senator Graham for remarks

Iranian-American state House candidate Anna Eskamani condemned a GOP senator who said it would be “terrible” to find out he had Iranian ancestry, calling the remarks “xenophobic” and “race-baiting.”

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, RSouth Carolina, was talking about U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test showing trace amounts of Native American ancestry in an appearance on Fox & Friends.

“Why don't you come back in a couple of weeks and we’ll take a look, we’ll find out who you really are,” Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy said, according to Newsweek.

“I'll probably be Iranian,” Graham said. “That'd be, like, terrible.”

Eskamani, a Democrat running for state House District 47 in Orlando and Winter Park, denounced Graham’s remarks in a statement.

“As the daughter of Iranian immigrants who worked tirelessly to achieve the American dream, I can tell you that being of Iranian heritage is not terrible,” said Eskamani.

“What is terrible is U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and his xenophobic comments that are fueled by Republican leadership each day in an effort to scare voters and divide us,” she said. “Enough is enough, we are a nation of immigrants and it’s about time Republican leadership stop race-baiting and furthering xenophobic policies that fuel a hateful agenda.”