The Republican National Committee (RNC) aimed to embroil President Obama in a sexual harassment scandal involving North Carolina's Democratic Party ahead of the president's visit to the state Tuesday.
In a video titled "Welcome to North Carolina, President Obama," the RNC features news broadcasts discussing the allegations with shots of Obama on Air Force One, indicating he is heading into the controversy.
A former top official in the state's Democratic party was alleged to have sexually harassed a former staffer, who claimed he was fired for filing a complaint.
North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman David Parker is expected step down next month in the wake of the scandal, despite
initially dismissing the allegations made against the party's former executive director and declining to immediately resign, reported
The News & Observer.Dozens of top state Democrats, including Gov. Bev Perdue, called for Parker to step aside, according to the newspaper.
"President Obama arrives in North Carolina today to find a Democratic party in turmoil in a state so important to his re-election plan that he decided to hold his national convention there," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement Tuesday. "As he visits the state, he should face tough questions about how long Democrats have known about this scandal and covered it up for political gain."
Obama's visit to North Carolina, a state that voted for him 2008, is part of an effort to recapture the support of young voters who have grown skeptical of his administration.
Obama will visit three college campuses in swing states this week, starting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he’ll try to appeal to young voters by urging Congress to pass legislation to prevent interest rates on subsidized student loans from doubling to 6.8 percent this summer.
