MANCHESTER, N.H. (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- He's the state representative who infamously stated a Nazi phrase to the New Hampshire Speaker of the House in 2012, and now, Republican Steve Vaillancourt is calling Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster "ugly as sin," comparing her to a drag queen.
Vaillancourt did not stop there, also saying Kuster's opponent, Republican State Representative Marilinda Garcia is "truly attractive."
All of it appears on the blog
New Hampshire Insider.
FOX 25's political reporter Sharman Sacchetti tried talking with Vaillancourt at his home in Manchester, but nobody answered.
In an updated post, he writes about reporters asking him if he stood by what he'd written.
He responded, "Stand by the fact that Ms. Garcia is more attractive than Ms. Kuster? If the reporters themselves don't see that, then they should question their own ability to function."
Congresswoman Kuster is calling the comments a distraction
"He's got serious mental health issues," she said. "It's rude and offensive. I've got thick skin."
Kuster added, "It's an election about ideas and points of view. And I have a very strong difference of opinion with the Republican Party at this point, and I think he reflects the values that they have about the role of women in our society."
Representative Garcia calls Vaillancourt's comments sexist, and said that they have no place in this race.
"It's mean, it's just mean," she said.
In fact, just last year, Democratic State Representative Peter Sullivan hurled sexist insults at Garcia, and compared her to Kim Kardashian.
"Some of the first criticisms that arose were some frankly negative and nasty comments based on my appearance as well," Garcia said. "I spoke up for myself then, and now I'll speak up for Rep. Kuster."
Late Monday afternoon, Rep Vaillancourt emailed Sacchetti to refer her to his blog.
Sacchetti also asked the New Hampshire Republican Party to respond.
A spokeswoman denounced Vaillancourt's comments, saying they have no place in political discourse and all candidates ought to be judged on their records.
