The California Labor Federation has pulled its endorsement of an Inland Democratic congressional candidate after her tweets were denounced by online critics as bigoted.

Regina Marston, who is running against Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, in the March 3 primary in the 42nd Congressional District, said she posted a tweet taking aim at Democratic rival Liam O’Mara’s physical appearance. But she said her Twitter account was hacked when a tweet from her account called a Twitter user “boy,” a word interpreted by critics as a racial slur.

A marketing and public relations professional from Murrieta, Marston said she’s since been bullied online and subjected to death threats.

Regina Marston is a Democratic candidate in the 42nd Congressional District in the Tuesday, March 3, 2020, primary. (Photo courtesy of Regina Marston)

Liam O’Mara is a Democratic candidate in the 42nd Congressional District in the Tuesday, March 3, 2020, primary. (Photo courtesy of Liam O’Mara)

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Marston and O’Mara are hoping to unseat Calvert in a district that represents Eastvale, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Canyon Lake, Menifee, Murrieta and part of Temecula.

The top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party, will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. Republicans hold a 7-percentage-point edge in the district’s voter registration and nonpartisan political forecasters predict Calvert will be reelected.

The controversy stems from Marston’s reaction to a tweet from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, who on Feb. 1 apologized on Twitter for leading a crowd in booing Hillary Clinton after Clinton criticized Bernie Sanders. Tlaib supports Sanders’ presidential bid.

“Girl, you need a crisis PR firm and an ego check. Get back to us when you’ve gotten both,” Marston tweeted to Tlaib.

Responding to Marston, Twitter user Hilary Agro tweeted: “Damn, AFL-CIO just endorsing anybody these days,” a reference to the federation’s endorsement of Marston.

“Yes they do. And they don’t endorse losers with beards and dreadlocks,” Marston replied in a now-deleted tweet. O’Mara, a Chapman University history professor from Lake Elsinore, has a beard with braids and has worn his hair in a long back braid.

In a phone interview Thursday, Feb. 13, Marston said she sent the tweet “because I don’t like Liam O’Mara and he has a beard and dreadlocks. It is my right to say that.”

That spurred a Twitter backlash against Marston.

“Maybe not with beards and dreadlocks (which are cool) but they clearly did endorse a loser here,” tweeted Twitter user KloboCop.

At one point, a Twitter user named “Black Devil Disco Cub,” whose avatar features an image of a black man, took issue with Marston calling Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, “girl.”

A tweet from Marston’s account replied: “I call everyone girl. It’s a term of endearment in the South. Have a great day, boy!”

Marston said her account had been hacked at the time.

The “boy” tweet was deleted, but not before Marston faced further backlash.

“You’re not from the south, you’re from the IE, an area of California that has always had a racism problem,” a user named “The Sassiest Washington” tweeted. “Your statement and continuing behavior has been nothing short of disgusting.”

The federation announced Monday, Feb. 10, that it was rescinding its Marston endorsement “following our democratic process. Racist or discriminatory statements and/or behavior go against our core values as a movement and won’t be tolerated.”

The California Labor Federation voted today to rescind the endorsement of Regina Marston in #CA42, following our democratic process. Racist or discriminatory statements and/or behavior go against our core values as a movement and won’t be tolerated. — California Labor Federation (@CaliforniaLabor) February 11, 2020

In an email, O’Mara, who said he doubts Marston’s hacking explanation, said: “Although the situation is unfortunate in many ways, I am happy that the California Labor Federation stepped up and did the right thing in a difficult situation, as language and behaviour of that kind is not acceptable in Democratic politics.”

Marston, who said she didn’t leave her house for four days as a result of the harassment, said she was “ecstatic” to lose the federation’s endorsement.

“I want nothing to do with any labor organization that would support attacking a candidate online and sending four death threats,” she said.

She blames O’Mara and Adriel Hampton, a self-described marketing executive and socialist activist from San Diego County, for her online treatment. Hampton, who is running as a no-party-preference candidate for California governor in 2022, runs the progressive political action committee The Really Online Lefty League.

In an email, Hampton said he was “kind of going to sit out” the race in the 42nd district “until I noticed that Regina was praising a lot of corporate Democrats and really (weaselly) establishment people.”

“When she used Twitter to insult and belittle (Tlaib), that was the last straw and I tweeted at Regina that she should drop out. The rest kind of unspooled from there.”

He added: “I wish Regina the best … I hope someone close to her will help her put down the phone – advice she should have learned from our tweeting President! All of Regina’s accusations are false and sad.”

O’Mara said he’s never met Hampton, nor does Hampton work for him. A check of O’Mara’s campaign spending on the Federal Election Commission website showed no payments to Hampton.

Marston accused O’Mara of using the situation to raise money for his campaign.

O’Mara, who said he’s told people not to harass Marston, replied: “I gained wider name recognition and support from her actions, but I did not force her to alienate progressives on Twitter and Facebook. I benefited from this only incidentally.”

As for O’Mara’s appearance, he said he plans to shear his braids at a weekend fundraiser. He said he doesn’t have dreadlocks.