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JEFFERSON CITY — A conservative candidate for U.S. Senate is facing criticism for comparing the appearances of female Democrats to cartoon villains and monsters.
Courtland Sykes, a Republican candidate for Senate, is standing by his Sunday evening Facebook post, which drew near-immediate ire. The post, which Sykes captioned "Democrats dressing for the jobs they want," is an image juxtaposing three prominent Democratic women with three cartoon villains:
Hillary Clinton , 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, and Maleficent (villain in "Sleeping Beauty")
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Maleficent (same as above, but in the form of a dragon)
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, and Ursula (villain in "The Little Mermaid").
Courtland Sykes for Senate
Many of the comments on his post — published the day after millions participated in Women's Marches across the country — were from women questioning the maturity and temperament of Sykes, an Arkansas native who recently campaigned for Roy Moore in a special Alabama Senate election.
"To be a US Senator, you may not want to make posts that alienate women," one woman wrote. "Perhaps you need to hire a competent campaign or social media advisor? Or perhaps consider why you're intent on bashing women?"
Another woman said the post indicated to her that further study of Sykes' policies and platforms was unnecessary.
"You are clearly immature and spiteful," she wrote. "I realize these things go on in both parties. It doesn't mean you have to play along."
Asked for comment about his post and the backlash, Sykes defended the post, comparing it to past criticism from the left of presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Melania Trump, the first lady.
"After seeing the way Democrats have attacked strong Conservative women like (Kellyanne) Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and our First Lady, our campaign rightfully pointed out that Democrats are acting (and dressing) like Disney villains," Sykes said in a written statement. "If Democrats like Claire McCaskill don’t want to be compared to Disney villains then they should stop emulating them."
Sykes aims to challenge McCaskill later in 2018. But first, Republicans will choose from among Sykes, Attorney General Josh Hawley, former Libertarian presidential candidate Austin Petersen and former stealth bomber pilot Tony Monetti in the August primary vote.
Camille Lombardi-Olive, a Springfield native who ran as a Democrat for Congress in 2016, has also said she is running for Senate as a Republican in 2018, though she does not appear to have filed her candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as of Monday.
Angelica Earl of St. Louis County also is running as a Democrat, and Japheth Ray Campbell of Springfield has filed to run as a Libertarian.
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