The daughter of a candidate running for a seat in the Michigan state house of representatives has drawn national attention after pleading with voters to prevent her father from taking office.
Stephanie Regan's father Robert Regan is a republican running for a seat in the Michigan state house. Stephanie's appeal for anyone but her dad for the seat went viral this week, racking up nearly 180,000 likes and more than 35,500 retweets.
Stephanie urged fellow voters to research her dad's campaign and his beliefs and to please "for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. [T]ell everyone."
In a subsequent post, she added that she didn't "feel safe [right now] sharing further information" and that people should decide for themselves.
She confirmed her identity to the Daily Dot.
Robert followed up with a statement saying he we happy his daughter "feels confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly." He encouraged Stephanie and others to let their opinions be heard.
He later told The Hill that he wasn't completely surprised by his daughter's statement, noting that he disagrees with her views on issues like systemic racism, the existence of white privilege and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"...[S]he went to the University of Colorado in Boulder — and you know, they just kind of get sucked into the Marxist communist ideology and she and I just don't see eye to eye when it comes to the whole socialism, communism, Marxist philosophy," he said.
Robert added that the only systemic racism he sees is at "the abortion clinic cause they seem to target the African American community."
Robert's campaign platform includes making "English the official language in Michigan," restoring a "constitutional militia to the state of Michigan" and other topics regarding immigration and abortion restrictions.
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