North Carolina Mayoral Candidate’s Racial Slur Kills His Candidacy
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — James Lee Knox is no longer running for mayor of Winston-Salem, N.C., after admitting he used a racial slur against a black woman last year.
Before deciding to withdraw, Knox faced pressure to drop out of the race after the Forsyth County Republican Party pulled its support for his candidacy due to the controversy.
It was last November that Knox described a black election employee with the N-word to another worker.
According to the Republican, he became frustrated when he was unable to learn the name of the woman. Knox says he ordinarily doesn’t believe in using racial slurs.
Without the backing of GOP leaders, Knox felt staying in the race was futile, giving the winner of the upcoming Democratic primary an uncontested shot at becoming mayor.
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