Journalist Zaid Jilani weighed in Monday on Kansas state House candidate Aaron Coleman, 19, withdrawing as the Democratic nominee.
Jilani told Hill.TV’s “Rising” that Coleman likely felt like he was “being defined only” by his admission to sending revenge porn and cyberbullying girls while he was in middle school instead of his policies.
“In the national narrative, this was the first thing people learned about Aaron Coleman was his behavior in middle school,” he said, adding this is part of the “reckoning” for children and preteens having personal devices that record their lives.
Jilani said that national news stories did not focus on issues such as Coleman being “pro-choice” compared to the incumbent state Rep Stan Frownfelter (D) being “primarily pro-life.”
“Technology has changed the way we understand and know people now,” he said. “So I doubt we know the worst thing that like Joe Biden or Kamala Harris or Donald Trump or Mike Pence have done in their personal lives.”
Coleman announced on Sunday over Twitter he was dropping out of the race.
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