The Dallas County Republican Party on Saturday rebuked Vickers "Vic" Cunningham, a former criminal district judge running for county commissioner, for what officials called his alleged "racist behavior and language."

The party's statement came after The Dallas Morning News revealed that people close to Cunningham say he has long expressed racial animosity and referred to black people using the N-word. And Cunningham acknowledged that he had created a trust fund in 2010 that rewards his children if they marry a white, straight, Christian.

County GOP chairwoman Missy Shorey said the party "wholeheartedly rejects the racist behavior and language alleged."

"Candidates facing such disturbing allegations need to understand that our party has no room for bigotry and discrimination," Shorey added.

Cunningham, who was an elected criminal court judge for 10 years, will face off against attorney J.J. Koch in the Republican primary runoff election Tuesday for commissioner of northern Dallas County's District 2.

The News looked into the allegations of racism after Cunningham's estranged brother, Bill Cunningham, came to the paper Monday saying his brother has been a lifelong racist. Bill said Vic has made clear that Bill's husband, Demonse Williams, is not welcome in his home because Williams is black.

A former political aide of Cunningham's described him making repeated racist statements. A text message from Cunningham's son showed concern that his father would not accept his relationship with an Asian woman. And in a recorded conversation, Cunningham's mother, Mina Cunningham, acknowledged that he had been a longtime bigot.

The former political aide, Amanda Tackett, who is a friend of Bill Cunningham's, said she had heard Vic Cunningham regularly use the N-word to insult black people behind their backs. She said he described criminal cases involving black people as "TND's," short for "Typical [N-word] Deals." She also alleged that he had referred to a black man he hired as "my [N-word]," saying, "Everybody needs a [N-word]."

In a letter Saturday to campaign supporters, Cunningham, who denied harboring racial bigotry, said The News' article had caused "much pain for my family and me." He denied ever using the N-word or discriminating against anyone. He dismissed his brother's allegations as an effort at revenge over a bitter financial dispute within the family.

"I take full responsibility for the terms of the trust my children would have to meet upon marriage to receive an advance from their trust," Cunningham said in the letter. "My views on interracial marriage have evolved since I set-up the irrevocable trust in 2010, and today I would absolutely remove those conditions if I legally could."

Bill Cunningham and his husband, Demonse Williams, say that Cunningham's brother Vic Cunningham is racist and homophobic. (Andy Jacobsohn / Staff Photographer)

Cunningham blamed the news article on Koch, his opponent, as "political opportunism of the worst kind."

"I am far from perfect," Cunningham said. "I ask that you forgive my faults, see the good, and fight back against the politics of personal destruction by my opponent."

Koch, meanwhile, sent an email to his supporters saying his opponent was unfit for office.

"I was appalled to read about Vic Cunningham's clearly racist and reprehensible views this afternoon," Koch wrote. "Being a County Commissioner means representing everyone. Clearly, Vic is not capable of doing so. I want to encourage Republican voters to unite behind our campaign on Tuesday, as Vic Cunningham would surely lose the only GOP seat on the Commissioner's Court this fall."

The winner of the Republican nomination will face a Democrat and a Libertarian in the general election in November. The District 2 seat is currently the sole Republican one on the five-member Commissioners Court.