Washington (CNN) A Republican congressional candidate is facing a backlash after saying that Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Maria last year should not be able to register to vote in the state.

In a video uploaded to YouTube by the campaign of a Republican rival, John Ward -- a candidate in the GOP primary for Florida's 6th Congressional District -- is asked by a voter how he would respond to Puerto Ricans who have "moved either temporarily or permanently to Florida" when "they say that they need more help and that the aid to Puerto Rico is not enough."

Ward replied by saying, "First of all, I don't think they should be allowed to register to vote. It's not lost on me that, I think, the Democrat party's really hoping that they can change the voting registers in a lot of counties and districts, and I don't think they should be allowed to do that."

The candidate went on to say that "we should be looking to put the Puerto Ricans back in their homes. The idea that they can come to the mainland United States, I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but I think we should be thinking about it in terms of getting them back home and providing the capital and resources to rebuild Puerto Rico, which is, I honestly think, is where they belong."

The comment, which Ward made at a candidate forum last month, has generated criticism from fellow Republicans.

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