Kentucky Democrats decry racist tweets by woman featured in GOP ad attacking McGrath

The Kentucky Democratic Party has called attention to racist tweets posted by a woman featured in a Republican television ad that attacks Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath.

The Democrats highlighted five tweets by Hannah Thornton, a former office assistant with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, made between 2011 and 2012 in which she used the word “nigga” and said derogatory things about people from Mexico.

Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Democratic Party, called the language hateful and said it is a persistent problem with the Republican Party.

“Congressman Barr and Senator McConnell have some serious explaining to do,” McNee said. “These tweets were public, and easily found in just a basic search of her social media. How did she end up working in the office of the Senate Majority Leader and then appearing in ads for Congressman (Andy) Barr?”

In August, Thornton was featured in a television ad aired by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican Super PAC, criticizing Amy McGrath, the former Marine who is running against U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington. She is also shown high-fiving Barr in his first ad of the 2018 general election.

Thornton served as a field assistant for McConnell between 2016 and 2018, according to her LinkedIn page.

Barr said he knows who Hannah Thornton is, but was entirely unfamiliar with her sentiments about Mexicans or her use of derogatory words.

“I don’t know this person very well, I know her as an acquaintance, but regardless I don’t tolerate anyone who would say something that would be racist or would have a racist viewpoint,” Barr said. “I reject that wholeheartedly and would not want to affiliate myself with anyone who holds those toxic views.”

He said that was not only his personal view, but also reflected his record of advocacy for “all of the people of Kentucky, regardless of race or political party or gender or anything else.” He noted one of his top priorities is to promote black history by designating Camp Nelson as a national monument.

“I don’t tolerate any kind of racist comments or racism, period,” he said.

The Congressional Leadership Fund issued a statement saying they do not “condone racism of any kind.”

“Any racist comments are repugnant and have no place in our society” said Robert Steurer, McConnell’s communications director. “She no longer works in the office.”

In one tweet by Thornton that was highlighted by the Democratic Party, she responds to someone on Twitter who said they hated “when Mexicans follow me around the store,” by saying “bahahahaha I hate them in general.”

Thornton did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.

She joins many people whose past derogatory comments on social media have surfaced after they entered the public spotlight.

In July, James Gunn, the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” was fired by Disney after old tweets involving rape and pedophilia were surfaced by two far-right activists. In the same month, Josh Hader, a professional baseball player with the Milwaukee Brewers, issued an apology after someone found old racist and homophobic posts he had made on Twitter.

The response has been mixed. Hader recieved a standing ovation from Brewer’s fans in his first appearance after the controversy and the cast and crew of “Guardians of the Galaxy” issued a statement asking Disney to rehire Gunn.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 11:55 AM.