New Jersey freeholder John Carman asked whether protest ‘would be over in time for them to cook dinner’ – but on Tuesday he was forced to eat his words

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A New Jersey politician who shared a meme on Facebook during January’s Women’s March in Washington asking whether the protest would be “over in time for them to cook dinner” has been forced to eat his words.

A woman who was angered by Republican John Carman’s remarks defeated him on Tuesday as he tried to win a second term as an Atlantic County freeholder.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Carman’s Facebook post. Photograph: Facebook

Democrat Ashley Bennett is a first-time candidate. The 32-year-old Egg Harbor Township resident works as a psychiatric emergency screener at a hospital.

“Like so many women across the state, I was offended and disgusted by Freeholder Carman’s misogynist Facebook posts,” Bennett said last month. “This kind of behavior simply cannot be tolerated any more.”

Carman said the meme was “a bad choice,” but that the women in his life were “strong and confident” enough to not be offended by his joke. He apologized a few days later.

He later drew more criticism for wearing a Confederate flag patch.

Carman posted the meme on Facebook on 21 January, the day of the anti-Trump march that drew an estimated 500,000 people to Washington, with the caption: “Just asking?”

Challenged by Democrats, he said: “I fully support women’s rights and issues. I thought it was funny. People need to lighten up.”

He later apologized, saying: “I made an error in judgment with a meme [I] thought was amusing and harmless. I was wrong. It is obvious to me that I have hurt many people, men and women with my insensitive post. For this, I am truly sorry.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report