Democrats in Lubbock, Texas said they are investigating what they call widespread vandalism against their efforts to support President Barack Obama.

“Hundreds of Obama yard signs have been stolen from neighborhoods all across Lubbock,” Lubbock Democratic Party chairperson Kenny Ketner said at a press conference Sunday. “We have had over half a dozen of our large 4×4 and 4×8 signs stolen, vandalized, or shot. And as of about 1 a.m. this morning, we can add hate crime to the list, as two of our 4×4 signs at 26th and University Ave. were vandalized with the n-word written multiple times and mustard sprayed all over the signs.”

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KBLK-TV posted a picture of the bullet-ridden sign, which says, “Lubbock supports Obama 2012.”

The Lubbock Democrats also posted a picture on their Facebook page (WARNING: offensive language) of another sign with mustard smeared on it and the racial slur “N*GGER” written repeatedly across the top.

In a separate post Monday morning, Ketner said Carl Tepper, head of the local Republican Party, accused the Democrats of vandalizing their own signs during an interview with a local radio station.

“Please don’t misunderstand me: I don’t mean to say that every Republican is racist,” Ketner said Sunday. “But we are not going to sweep this problem under the rug like we always do in Lubbock. Racist words scribbled on a political sign are a community problem, and I call on the entire community of Lubbock to discuss this problem openly and come up with a solution.”

The incidents in Lubbock follow a rash of racist anti-Obama demonstrations in other parts of the state, such as an Obama supporter in McKinney whose yard sign was covered by a sheet saying, “N*GGER LOVER” and an Austin resident who lynched a chair in his front yard, an apparent reference to Clint Eastwood’s “empty chair” speech at this year’s Republican National Convention.

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[Image via KBLK-TV’s Facebook page]

[h/t Addicting Info]