North Carolina Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers went out with a bang Tuesday when she mocked the weight of a party activist who didn’t support her re-election campaign during a stop at a polling place.
Ellmers, who lost a primary for her House seat in North Carolina’s Second District to a challenger backed by conservative groups Tuesday, told a former GOP official she had “gained some weight,” when she stopped to vote earlier that day.
The loss is also of note because Ellmers was opposed by conservative groups, but backed by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who recorded robocalls on her behalf.
“You’re eating a little bit too much pork barbecue,” Ellmers said to Maggie Sandrock, a poll worker and former chairwoman of the Harnett County Republican Party. Video of the insult was caught by WNCN, a CBS affiliate in Raleigh.
According to Sandrock, Ellmers’ comments was not just a little ribbing between friends. Sandrock supported her challenger, Rep. George Holding, after years of previously backing Ellmers. Holding and Ellmers ended up facing off because of redistricting.
“She took everything really personally,” Sandrock told CNN in an interview. “She has been known to lash out when confronted with constituents who don’t agree with her or if they challenge her position. While it wasn’t surprising to me, I certainly was disappointed by it.”
Sandrock added, “She has become a mean girl on steroids in my view.”
Sandrock said she opposed Ellmers this cycle because of her voting record, a slight she said Ellmers took personally.
A spokesman for Ellmers did not return an email requesting comment, but Ellmers was unapologetic when she spoke to WNCN after the incident.
“Yeah, she’s put on a little weight,” Ellmers reiterated to the CBS affiliate.
“I didn’t take it personally because I really don’t care what Rep. Ellmers thinks about me,” Sandrock told CNN. “I care much more about what I think of myself and what the people around me think of me – the people who really care about me.”