GOP cuts ties with hopeful over Omar comments

WASHINGTON – National and local Republicans moved to distance themselves from Florida congressional candidate George Buck after he called for Rep. Ilhan Omar, D- Minn., and other Democrats to be hanged for treason in a fundraising email.

The National Republican Congressional Committee ( NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, removed Buck from their “Young Guns” program, the Republican program to recruit candidates in competitive races and raise money for them.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “made the decision to remove him from the program,” NRCC spokesman Bob Salera told USA TODAY, adding that Rep. Tom Emmer, R- Minn., who leads the NRCC, agreed.

“There’s no place for inciting violence in politics,” said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise in a statement. “Instead of doubling down on these disgraceful comments, the candidate ought to apologize unequivocally and denounce these unacceptable statements.”

Buck, whose website calls him a “Conservative, America- First Republican,” is running to challenge Rep. Charlie Crist, D- Fla,. a former governor of the state who has held the seat since 2017.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Buck had circulated a fundraising email repeating unsubstantiated accusations that Omar worked for the government of Qatar – an act of treason, the email said.

“We should hang these traitors where they stand,” the email said, reported the Tampa Bay Times.

The email, which included Buck’s signature, did not say who the “traitors” were, but it highlighted Crist, Omar, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.

Buck told the Tampa Bay Times, “Anyone who commits treason against the United States should be tried to the full extent of the law,” and he sent the outlet the federal definition of the penalties for treason, which include the death penalty.

Omar