(PolitiFact) The U.S. House race in California’s 50th district has gotten nasty.
Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter represents a solidly Republican district, but he was indicted in August for misusing campaign funds. This has given a boost to his previously longshot Democratic challenger, Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is of Palestinian and Mexican ancestry. A recent poll by the independent firm SurveyUSA had Hunter with only a three-point lead.
Hunter has attracted national attention — and criticism — for rhetoric that seeks to paint Campa-Najjar as someone who has ties to Islamist terrorists.
“Ammar Campa-Najjar is working to infiltrate Congress,” says one ad by Hunter’s campaign. “He’s used three different names to hide his family’s ties to terrorism. His grandfather masterminded the Munich Olympic massacre. His father said they deserved to die.”
