An audio clip of Nevada Republican Congressional candidate John Lee saying he’s “not worried about Black people” during his campaign has gone viral, HuffPost reported.
During a meet-and-greet event on Sept. 23, Lee can be heard saying Black voters are the last thing on his mind while mocking his Democratic opponent and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) chair Rep. Steven Horsford. “They made him chair of the Black Caucus. Whoop-de-doo,” Lee said last Monday at a campaign meet-and-greet. “I’m from North Las Vegas. I’m not worried about Black people. You know?”
Horsford posted the clip on X to highlight how his words don’t represent “our values” about Nevada’s Black voters and “we will not let him represent us in Congress.”
In the full clip, posted on YouTube, Lee blasted the Caucus for only having Democratic members and wrongfully referred to the group as the “most racist in the world.” “They have one objective, and that is for self-domination in Congress,” Lee can be heard saying.
The Caucus has been labeled a nonpartisan group since 1971 but has only had a few GOP lawmaker members since its formation. With its current roster of 60 Democratic legislators, Congress’ five Black Republicans
— Reps. Byron Donalds (Fla.), Wesley Hunt (Texas), John James (Mich.) Burgess Owens (Utah), and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) — are not members. His comments may not be the best for his campaign, as his district — Nevada’s 4th — is 15% Black.However, this is not Lee’s first offensive remarks about the CBC. In November 2023, he referred to the group as “stupid” and, in August 2024, compared it to having “a blond-haired caucus.”
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal
, former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump endorsed Lee during the June 2024 primary election. On social media, Trump celebrated some of the things he hopes to see Lee do if elected to Congress. “The former highly popular and successful Mayor of North Las Vegas, John will work hard to lower inflation, uphold the Rule of Law, revitalize our economy, protect our great police and military, and defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump said.Lee is the former mayor of North Las Vegas, who also grabbed an
endorsement from Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo. The GOP is vying for Lee, who ran for governor in 2022, to beat Horsford, who has worked for the people of the 4th district since 2019 and once held the seat between 2013 and 2015.RELATED CONTENT: NAACP To Spend $20M In Effort To Mobilize Black Voters