A Democratic candidate for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District has ended her campaign in the wake of a shocking incident that took place amid a sleepover for several pre-teen girls.
Abby Broyles came under intense pressure and criticism after she allegedly verbally attacked some of the pre-teens while at the home of a friend who hosted the sleepover for the middle-schoolers.
According to NonDoc.com, which first reported the story, Broyles went to the home on Feb. 11 and got increasingly aggressive as she continued drinking through the night.
After becoming intoxicated, she allegedly insulted several of the girls according to several people the news outlet interviewed. Witnesses said Broyles referred to one girl as an “acne f**ker,” another as a “Hispanic f**ker,” and another a “judgy f**ker.” Broyles also allegedly vomited into a laundry basket as well as a girl’s shoe, according to the report.
Fox News added:
A press release Thursday from Broyles’ team announced she is withdrawing her candidacy for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, citing a combination of factors, including “gerrymandering” and “recent events” and “salacious right-wing clickbait.”
“Shortly after Abby announced her candidacy for CD-5, the Republican legislature egregiously gerrymandered the new district to prevent any democrat from winning. That reality combined with recent events that turned Abby into salacious right-wing clickbait have led the Broyles campaign to make this difficult decision and Abby to focus on her mental health,” the press release notes further, adding that Broyles regretted mixing a sleeping med with alcohol.
“Last month, I made a mistake I deeply regret,” Broyles said. “As I admitted, I mixed alcohol and a medication I’d never taken before while under the same roof as a group of young women who looked up to me, and for that, I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
She also states that a mother went to Twitter and the media after the sleepover to make statements that are “falsely accusatory.”
“A mother whom I’ve never met, went to Twitter and the media 5 days later to make accusations that not only go against my core values and beliefs, but are falsely accusatory,” Broyles said.
Initially, the then-Democratic contender claimed that the allegations were false when contacted by NonDoc.com, adding that she was out of town. She also said that the allegations were being “cooked up,” while threatening NonDoc.com with a lawsuit.
“I saw the tweets. I have been out of town on a fundraising trip, and they are awful and offensive and false,” Broyles said to the news outlet. “I mean, I get trolled on Twitter all the time, but I don’t know these women and I don’t know what is behind this, but it’s just not true.”
“I’m running for office. You don’t think this is a political attack? You don’t think this is something they cooked up?” Broyles said.
In a follow-up interview with KFOR, Broyles said that she was “misquoted” by NonDoc and claimed she “never told them that I wasn’t there.”
The former candidate for Congress has also said she will eventually return to politics.
“Once I work through my mental health challenges, I will be back to fight and protect our democracy, working alongside all of you – women, girls and working families alike. I’m making this promise to you: I will be back stronger than ever,” Broyles said.
