A Democrat congressional candidate in Georgia convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) this week trashed his district in video footage of his arrest.
Recently released video footage of Steven Lamar Foster, 61, who is running as a Democrat against incumbent Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) in the November election, showed him trashing his district while police officers arrested him:
“Eleven years I served this county. I hate this county. I prayed to God that he would curse it. And guess what? He did,” Foster allegedly said, according to the arrest footage from September 2017.
“Man, I saw it hit and cursed, and I saw people laid off right and left—white people. I hate this county,” he added.
A jury found Foster guilty of DUI on Monday, and a judge ordered him to jail without bond until his sentencing next Tuesday.
Even though Foster has been convicted of the offense and his comments about his district have been made public, he is still listed on the ballot, and his campaign manager said Foster has not signaled any intent to drop out of the race.
“He would not have taken this to trial if he had thought he would be found guilty,” Dan Lovingood, the chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party’s 14th Congressional District and Foster’s campaign manager told the Daily Citizen-News. “I have no comment to make other than that. He’s still in the race. He seems more determined than ever to continue.”
Lovingood added that depending on what the judge decides at Foster’s sentencing Tuesday, there might have to be some changes made to the campaign, but it is up to Foster to decide how he wants to proceed with his campaign.