The Kern County Republican Party served a cease and desist letter to the Kyle Carter for Mayor Campaign Monday warning the campaign to stop using the name of the Republican Party in advertisements that claim to be an endorsement of the Republican Party.
The Republican Party has not endorsed Carter's candidacy.
The letter signed by Republican Chairman Dean Haddock stated the party has "overwhelmingly endorsed Ms. Karen Goh".
23ABC reached out to Kyle Carter's campaign, who said he hasn't had a chance to review the letter yet.
READ THE PRESS RELEASE FROM KERN COUNTY REPUBLICANS:
Monday, Nov. 7, 2016 The Kern County Republican Party served a cease and desist letter to Kyle Carter for Mayor Campaign today warning the campaign to stop using the name of the Republican Party in campaign advertisements that purport to be an endorsement of the Republican Party. The letter signed by Republican Chairman Dean Haddock stated, "This letter will serve as a demand that you and immediately cease and desist from continuing this conduct because we have not endorsed your candidacy, in fact, we have we have overwhelmingly endorsed Ms. Karen Goh who has also received major endorsements from well-respected supporters. Please direct your staff to cease from this reckless and improper conduct because it may harm the election process and damage our reputation in the community." Haddock stated, "No organization can allow people to use their good name for personal benefit without authorization or approval. I'm surprised that Mr. Carter doesn't know this."
In an audio file received by 23ABC, the following could be heard from a robocall sent by the Kyle Carter for Mayor campaign to Republican voters:
"Hi, my name is Ben. I’m calling on behalf of the Republican Party concerning the mayor’s race to let you know that Karen Goh supports Obama Care. She has signed up hundreds of welfare recipients for Obama Care at her non profit Garden Pathways. Please join republican leaders in voting for republican Kyle Carter as Bakersfield's next Mayor. This message is paid for by Kyle Carter for Mayor 2016."
Kyle Carter responded to the claims with the following statement:
"I am a proud, life long, Republican. My campaign has not used language suggesting that I was endorsed by the Kern County Republican Party or the GOP. My campaign has however voiced clearly that I am endorsed by many Republicans and Republican leaders. One need only review my page of endorsements to see this evidenced. From my perspective, this is a desperate attempt by my opponent to tarnish my positive campaign for Mayor of Bakersfield."
