After Westfield Event, Sen. Kean Says Candidate Should Step Down

WESTFIELD, NJ — After Westfield resident and State Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. attended a kickoff campaign party Saturday for two Garwood council candidates at a Republican headquarters in Westfield, Kean was forced to reckon with one of the candidates' social media posts.

When Kean became aware of the posts, he and other politicians said candidate Jesse Wilson should drop out of the race. "Our campaign apologizes for aiding Mr. Wilson's candidacy," said Kean's campaign manager, citing an insidernj.com article about racist, homophobic, and misogynistic posts. Jesse Wilson responded by saying the Democrats had cropped posts "meant to spark conversation."

Read the original story here.

Read Wilson's response here.

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