A Michigan businessman allegedly offered a Democrat candidate for the Michigan Senate $20 million to drop his current candidacy and run against House Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI., instead. The candidate – Hill Harper – reportedly turned down the offer.
Linden Nelsen, the businessman and political donor, made the offer last month, according to Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesman for Harper’s campaign, the New York Times reported.
The conversation between Harper and Nelson was “respectful on both sides,” according to Ganapathy.
Harper and Tlaib could not be reached for comment. But in a post on X — formerly known as Twitter — on Wednesday, Harper wrote, “I will not be bought, or bullied, or bullied.”
LEGAL GROUP CALLS ON MICHIGAN BAR TO INVESTIGATE, SANCTION TLAIB FOR ANTI-ISRAEL RHETORIC
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a demonstration calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, Oct. 18, 2023, near the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)
“To me, this is not about one person or one phone call. This is about a broken political and campaign finance system that is biased toward the rich and powerful. I am running for the US Senate because I believe that the rich and powerful. I have a lot of representation in Washington. I’m running to be a voice for the people. I can’t be bought, or bossed, or bullied,” he said.
Politico first reported the offer allegations and reached Nelson briefly on Wednesday, but the call ended quickly, and Nelson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Harper, an actor and businessman, faces an uphill battle to succeed Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. But he positioned himself as a progressive option and joined other democrats calling for a ceasefire earlier this month. Tlaib also called for a ceasefire.
“The answers to ensure lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians are neither simple nor painless, but one fact stands: violence against defenseless children, trapped and afraid, is abhorrent, regardless what’s behind it,” Harper he said to write in a statement.
DEM SENATE HOPEFUL, URGES BIDEN TO QUIT 2024 TO FIGHT IN PARTY FIGHT ON GAZA
The US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Saturday, September 30, 2023. (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Tlaib, a progressive member of the “Squad”, came under fire this month for his remarks about the Israel-Palestine war.
whose members targeted Hamas in its war on Israel after the terrorist group attacked and killed hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians last month, Fox News Digital learned exclusively last week.
The group is hidden from non-members and does not appear on the platform’s search engine, although Fox News Digital has gained access to it.
The group’s founder, Maher Abdel-qader, who has extensive ties to Tlaib and has also been linked to other liberal politicians, has come under fire in the past for his antisemitic posts on social media, including questioning whether the Holocaust took place.
Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.
