“I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,’” Republican candidate Robert Regan said during a livestreamed video call.
A Michigan Republican candidate has been condemned for remarks he made about rape and his daughters while making an analogy about dropping efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
"That's kind of like having three daughters. I tell my daughters if rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it," said state house candidate Robert Regan, 54, during a live-streamed panel on Sunday. "That's not how we roll. That's not how we won this election," he said.
Video of the discussion, hosted by the conservative Rescue Michigan Coalition, remained available on the group’s Facebook page Thursday.
The comments drew criticism from members of his party.
Ron Weiser, co-chair of the state's Republican Party, denounced the candidate for Michigan's District 74 seat. Regan, a Donald Trump supporter who supports the former president's false claims that the election was stolen, has also posted comments to social media asserting the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax. He has called Russia's invasion of Ukraine a “fake war just like the fake pandemic” and shared a meme saying feminism is “a Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.”
In other posts, he has shared conspiracy theories claiming Jewish people were behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks and that they control the banking world and media outlets.
“Mr. Regan’s history of foolish, egregious and offensive comments, including his most recent one are simply beyond the pale,” Weiser said in a statement. “We are better than this as a Party and I absolutely expect better than this of our candidates.”
The Michigan Freedom Fund, a nonprofit conservative organization, said in a statement that Regan's remarks were "despicable & disqualifying."
"I’m the mom of four young girls. Every day I teach them to stand up for themselves, to know what they’re worth, and to fight back against creeps like Regan," said Tori Sachs, executive director of the fund. "Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state capitol and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent.”
State GOP Sen. Mark E. Huizenga said he was appalled by Regan's remarks.
"As a Christian, a public servant and a father of two daughters, I find Robert Regan's comments about sexual assault to be revolting and immoral, and I strongly denounce them," Huizenga said in a statement. "His statements about Russia's unprovoked attack of a sovereign country are contrary to our own nation's values, and his antisemitic posts claiming Jewish people control the banks and were behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks are shameful and disgusting."
In 2020, when during a run for the state House, Regan's three daughters took to Twitter to urge voters to not elect their father.
“If you’re in Michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. Tell everyone,” Stephanie Regan wrote.
Regan advanced last week to the general election after winning a special GOP primary by 81 votes.
In an email sent to Inside Edition Digital, Regan said his comments had been taken out of context and what he meant to say was that election fraud claims should be investigated.
There has been no evidence of voter fraud claims that Trump was the rightful victor in the 2020 election.
"In retrospect, knowing now how vicious my attackers could be, I regret using an analogy that could so easily have been taken out of context. My point was simply this: when there are alleged improprieties, even if the outcome seems inevitable, we must fight back and investigate so that justice can be served, and our votes are not diluted," Regan wrote.
"Now I understand how President Trump felt when he discovered his biggest enemies were in his own political party," Regan said, claiming he was the victim of "villainous attacks" by Republican politicians.
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