WATCH: Doug Ford stands by PC candidate Andrew Lawton despite past comments that are being characterized as misogynistic, homophobic and racist #onpoli pic.twitter.com/VEDtObKOeE — NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) May 8, 2018

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is standing by a candidate who is distancing himself from past comments that are being described as misogynistic, racist and homophobic.

The candidate, Andrew Lawton, says years of struggling with mental illness were to blame for what he described as past "failings".

The controversy comes just days after Ford dropped Tanya Granic Allen as a candidate, after homophobic statements were brought to light by the governing Liberals.

But Ford says he accepts that Lawton has acknowledged some of the comments were not appropriate.

The Tory leader says Lawton is a good candidate and the party is a "big tent."

Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne says she doesn’t know Lawton or his situation, but that hateful language must be called out.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Lawton said his battle with an unspecified mental illness spanned from 2005 to 2013.

"Simply put, I was reckless in almost all areas of my life: financially, socially, sexually, and vocationally," said Lawton, who is running in the riding of London West. "There are significant chunks of this period that I do not remember."

I've shared this with media, but need to say it publicly as well. pic.twitter.com/KWMTq5odk6 — Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) May 7, 2018

During that time, Lawton said he continued to be active on social media, "posting things that are so far removed from who I am and what I stand for that I can’t even fathom my frame of mind in writing them."

Lawton said in his statement that he sought treatment in 2011, and called on voters to show him compassion and understanding, to not judge him by past mistakes and allow him to stay on board as a Tory candidate.

Critics have accused Lawton of expressing openly misogynistic, racist and homophobic views on social media posts and in his various jobs as a talk radio host and contributor to far-right Rebel Media.

The London Free Press reported that the comments include responding to a poll in 2015 that found homophobia was a concern for London’s gay community by writing on Facebook, "Number of sexual orientation-motivated hate crimes in Canada per year: 185. Number of HIV/AIDS infections from men (who) have sex with men in Canada per year: 1,450. Who is the real enemy?"

Lawton is one of 11 candidates appointed by Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford to represent the party in the June 7 election.

Granic Allen, a social conservative and outspoken opponent of the province’s sex education curriculum, was taken off the Tory ballot in Mississauga Centre on the weekend.

Granic Allen’s dismissal came just hours after the Liberals shared an edited video showing her discussing sex education in Croatia, saying that when she sees the country “trying to push radical sexualization on the young, or gay marriage, I almost vomit in disbelief.”

The former Tory leadership candidate called her removal another betrayal of social conservatives.