Rep. Davis Disavows Email Calling Rival ‘Street Walker’

Republican Congressman Rodney Davis is distancing himself from a GOP supporter who made harsh remarks about a Davis challenger.  

An email reportedly from Montgomery County GOP Chairman Joe Allen called Erika Harold of Urbana a "street walker'' and "love child'' of Democrats. It predicted she will be hired by a Chicago law firm meeting a minority-hiring quota.

Harold is bi-racial, a former Miss America and a Harvard law school graduate. The Republican is challenging Davis in next year's primary.

Davis spokesman Andrew Flach says the email was ``misguided and wrong.'' It was published on a website maintained by a former GOP official Doug Ibendahl, who called it "racist.''

Allen told The News-Gazette in Champaign what he wrote "was completely wrong.'' Harold's campaign didn't respond to calls or emails.