Teen candidate for Kansas House, under fire for revenge porn past, says he’ll quit
Aaron Coleman, a 19-year-old restaurant dishwasher whose upset victory over Kansas Rep. Stan Frownfelter in the Kansas 37th House District primary this month attracted national attention, has abandoned his pursuit of public office.
In a 1 a.m. tweet, Coleman said he would be releasing a press release Sunday morning announcing his resignation. The tweet came after major figures in the Kansas Democratic Party disowned him in recent days, contending caustic social media posts and past participation in revenge porn make him unfit to serve in the Legislature.
“In all seriousness, feminism doesn’t have a chance so long as Donatism remains on the march,” Coleman tweet overnight on Sunday. “The progressive circular firing squad has done more to uphold the status quo than conservatives could have ever dreamed of. I will be releasing a press release in the morning resigning.”
Donatism is a reference to a 4th Century Roman Catholic schism that resulted in a philosophy that sinners cannot be welcomed as members of the church. Coleman could not immediately be reached by text, phone or email on Sunday morning.
By Sunday afternoon, Coleman confirmed he made the decision to withdraw as the Democratic nominee.
He said in another tweet Sunday that his father is in the hospital and he never expected the type of attention he was receiving, and that he needed to “focus on taking care of my family & surviving the COVID great depression.”
Coleman’s candidacy and upset victory over long-serving Frownfelter in the Wyandotte County house district primary received attention statewide and beyond both for the surprising nature of Coleman’s ascendancy on a progressive plank against a well-established centrist incumbent, but also for revelations about Coleman’s past behavior.
Coleman was accused of, and acknowledged, bullying a female classmate and blackmailing another with her nude photographs while in middle school. He also more recently made light of the possibility of a former Republican lawmaker contracting coronavirus and dying from its complications.
“I regret my past actions and hope to continually learn from them as I grow into the person I hope to be,” Coleman said.
Coleman may potentially be able to take his name off the ballot for the November general election. Kansas law allows a nominee to withdraw by September 1 in cases of severe medical hardship by the nominee or nominee’s immediate family.
Heather Scanlon, chief of staff to House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer of Wichita, said there was a “sense of relief” that Coleman was planning an attempt to remove his name from the ballot. Sawyer said last week that Coleman “does not represent the values of House Democrats.”
“As far as I am aware, Mr. Coleman came to this decision largely by himself and based on a number of factors,” Scanlon said in a statement. We’re glad to see him working toward making more responsible decisions than he has done in his past. His realization that he’s put this seat at real risk and his request for help in his removal from the ballot from the caucus is encouraging news. We’ll continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety of this seat, and to conduct the remainder of the campaign cycle with integrity, as we always strive to do.”
If Coleman is successful in getting his name off the ballot, then elected party precinct members in Wyandotte County would choose his replacement. Coleman, who is a precinct committee member, said Sunday “I can assure you we are getting pressure to vote to nominate Frownfelter.”
“There are a lot of talented people in (House District 37),” Coleman said on Twitter. “We can do better than Rep. Coleman OR Rep. Frownfelter. Let me just leave it at that.”
If Coleman remains on the ballot and wins in November over two write-in campaigns against him, he could also resign his seat and a committee of Democratic precinct members in Wyandotte County would choose his replacement.
Frownfelter held his seat since 2007 in a solidly Democratic district, meaning Coleman’s slim victory by 14 votes in the primary and the absence of a Republican filing for the seat all almost assured Coleman a seat in the Kansas House. Frownfelter, along with Republican Kristina Smith, announced they would seek to upend Coleman in the November general election with write-in campaigns.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Laura Kelly has previously told the Associated Press that Coleman is “not fit” to serve in the Legislature.
Coleman received national press coverage, including in the New York Times, for his unusual candidacy and the nature of his past behavior. On Friday, The Intercept posted a half-hour interview of Coleman by the news website’s co-founder, Glenn Greenwald, who has been critical of those who hold Coleman’s behavior as an early-teen against him now that he’s a 19-year-old adult.
Coleman, who previously ran his own write-in campaign for Kansas governor in 2018, advocated for cannabis legalization, abortion rights and replacing the fossil fuel industry with sources of renewable power, among other positions.
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
