The Republican Party of Arkansas' executive committee announced Tuesday it won't support Neil Kumar, a Republican, in his bid for the 3rd District congressional seat, adding it won't endorse or defend "racist, bigoted, sexist or threatening language by any candidate."
Kumar, 26, of Bentonville, announced in July his plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Womack in the Republican primary for Congress. The primary election is May 24.
The party has designated Kumar a "non-recommended candidate" in the 2022 election after careful consideration of state election law, party rules and ethics, said Jonelle Fulmer, party chairman, in a news release.
The release did not cite specific language by Kumar that party leaders deemed offensive or threatening. An email to the party seeking further comment was not returned Tuesday.
Asked for his response, Kumar did not seem deterred.
"I view publicly losing the endorsement of the pro-illegal immigrant, pro-China Arkansas Republican Party -- whose top priority is protecting Walmart, Tyson's Chicken, and China's bag man Steve Womack and his good pals Tom Cotton and John Boozman -- as a badge of honor," Kumar said, in an email to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
"Unlike those corporate-funded clowns, I'm running for Congress to fight for the people of Arkansas -- not Walmart, not China, and not the D.C. special interests who are giving away the birthrights of heritage Americans," he said.
Kumar also accused "white upper class" Republicans of exploiting immigrants for cheap labor, then objecting "when a minority like myself tries to stop their Anti-white, America-Last scheme to replace hard-working Arkansans with foreigners," he said.
Womack, 64, of Rogers, was first elected to Congress in 2010. A spokeswoman from his office declined comment Tuesday.
The 3rd District includes Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison and Crawford counties and part of Sebastian County, under a congressional redistricting plan state lawmakers approved this month.
Lauren Mallett-Hays, a Democrat and speech-language pathologist from Farmington, is the only other person who has declared their candidacy for the 3rd District seat.