Secretary of State: Culp candidate statement ‘not omitted’ from governor race materials
Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s office said in a press release that Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp’s statement “was not omitted from any materials” the office produced.
The press release was a response to an allegation that Culp’s candidate statement was omitted from the online voter’s guide, the office said.
“On May 24, gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp’s campaign manager Christopher Gergen submitted via email a candidate statement to the Office of the Secretary of State’s Elections division,” the press release said. “In the email we received, Mr. Gergen claimed he had submitted a candidate statement to our office on two prior occasions — May 20 and May 22.
“After conducting a thorough search of our email accounts within the Elections Division and the Secretary of State’s Office — as well as the online portal through which candidates were encouraged to submit statements — we did not find previous communications from the Culp campaign that included a candidate statement.”
Gergen wrote in an email Tuesday: “The Culp for Governor campaign has no comment on the Secretary’s press release. We consider the matter closed and we are focused to running our race to the very end and look forward to the victory on August 4th.”
The Secretary of State’s Office’s statement went on to say: “On June 10, Elections Division staff confirmed the candidate statement with Culp’s campaign, and explained the submission did not include biographical information and that all the information contained in the submission as written would appear in the ‘Statement’ section of the candidate statement.”
They also asked Gergen to resend the May 20 and 22 emails that were allegedly submitted, and they reiterated that request June 15, the press release said.
“In total, our office sent the Culp campaign five email notices and reminders, including a June 19 email that allowed candidates to preview their statements and notify our office of any errors,” the press release said. “The Culp campaign did not resend the two prior emails we requested; nor did it respond to the June 19 email.”
The Secretary of State’s Office produces the online voter’s guide with all the candidate statements it receives.
“Candidate statements are posted exactly as submitted,” the press release said. “The Office of the Secretary of State does not make corrections of any kind or verify statements for truth or fact.”
A search of the voter’s guide shows an entry for Culp that contains a candidate statement and contact information only.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 9:45 AM.
