A Democrat running for county council in eastern Indiana was ridiculed Tuesday after critics claimed she appeared “s— faced” and slurred her way through attacks on Republicans during a televised candidate forum.
During the forum, Fayette County Council candidate Jaime West said she would “fire all Republicans” if elected, railed against “MAGAs” she called “racist” and unintelligent, and alleged that a sheriff’s nephew had threatened to kill her. Asked for a final message to voters, West responded: “We have guns too.”
“This is not a skit,” said LibsOfTikTok, a popular conservative punditry account run by commentator Chaya Raichik.
“Jaime West, a Democrat running for Fayette County Council in Indiana, gave an embarrassing interview where she appears to mumble and rant the entire time. Is she intoxicated?” Raichik asked on X.
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Former litigator Viva Frei tweeted that the video initially appeared to be a “skit [or] high school video project.”
“I had to make sure she did not have a neurological disorder that could account for the slurred speech and insane rambling. She doesn’t. And even if she did have a diagnosed neurological disorder, ‘we have guns too’ after talking about firing all Republicans would ordinarily be disqualifying,” Frei said.
When asked one decision she would make if elected that constituents would find unpopular, West told the moderator “fire all Republicans.”
“I wouldn’t let them — I don’t even talk to them, I don’t like them. They voted against — their own state representative voted against her own party,” West continued while also pledging not to raise taxes.
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“Y’all did this to us… you made this happen. This ICE coming into our communities, stealing people’s jobs. I mean I’ve been threatened so many times to my face by MAGA; we’ll call them, because there’s Republicans who actually get it, you know there are good Republicans out there, but then there’s these MAGAs who are just racist and aren’t very intelligent at all,” West continued.
“They call you names. The sheriff’s nephew threatened to blow my head off. But, you know, what are you going to do?”
The moderator paused before asking West for a final message to voters:
“We have guns too,” West said, as the moderator pivoted to informing viewers about how to vote in the Hoosier State’s elections this year.
West could not immediately be reached for comment. While it was not immediately clear which Indiana sheriff West was referring to, Zac Jones — who leads the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office where she is running, was stunned by the remark:
“I don’t know Jaime West and she obviously doesn’t know me. I have 5 nieces and 0 nephews. I’m not sure what she is talking about and I’m certain she has no idea what she is talking about either,” Jones told Fox News Digital.
“It’s a sad day when this is the best the Democrat Party can get to run for this important local office.”
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West is running against Republican Gary Keener Jr. in Fayette County, which is anchored by Connersville.
