Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alec Ross has come under fire for saying his opponent, gay longtime lawmaker Rich Madaleno, “prances around Annapolis.”
WATCH: Maryland gubernatorial candidate @RichMadaleno was just accused of "prancing" around the issues. Sign up to stand against anti-LGBTQ attacks: https://t.co/0vFZxIVLoO pic.twitter.com/uqAYvZsYWG
— LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) March 28, 2018
Madaleno's campaign put out a statement that called Ross's choice of words “poor and insensitive.” In an interview, Madaleno said he was proud of his legislative record and thought Ross's word choice was “interesting.”
“Alec Ross certainly wouldn't say Rushern Baker is ‘prancing around' Prince George's County, or that Krish Vignarajah was ‘prancing around' while serving on first lady [Michelle] Obama's staff,” the campaign's statement read, referring to two of the other Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial race.
Ross said he wasn't talking about Madaleno's sexuality. Julie Verratti, Ross's openly gay running mate, called Ross a “good + decent person who made a poor language choice.”
Said Madaleno on Facebook: “I'm proud of my extensive record of accomplishment in Annapolis. As an elected official I have pranced my way to victory with: the assault rifle ban; marriage equality; the fracking ban; free community college tuition… And I will keep delivering results by fighting in the Senate for all Marylanders. Trust me to prance my way to the Governor's mansion this November.”
