Illinois Republican county chairman Jim Allen called black congressional candidate Erika Harold the “love child” of the Democratic party; a “street walker” whose “pimps” are party leaders. He even suggested that after the election, Harold, who is a former Miss America and a Harvard Law School graduate, will be “working for some law firm that needs to meet their quota for minority hires,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. By the way, Erika Harold is seeking the Republican nomination for the 13th congressional district. That’s the irony. They even rail against one another. Let’s not ignore the racist element of this email.

Here’s more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Montgomery County GOP Chairman Jim Allen wrote the comments in an email to a Republican website, regarding Erika Harold. She is the former Miss America and Harvard Law grad who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 13th Congressional District, which stretches from Champaign to the Metro East.

The episode is an illustration of the unusual state of the GOP in Illinois, where the party tends to fight with itself more than it does with the ruling Democrats.

Allen is a supporter of incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, whom Harold is challenging for the GOP nomination next year. Allen’s letter appears today onRepublicanNewsWatch, an independent website by conservative Republicans who have challenged the more moderate GOP party leaders in the state.

It was in response to a column on the site hailing Harold’s entry as breath of fresh air for the party.

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.