(JTA) — A 20-year-old Jewish community college student who drew scrutiny for allegations of harassment and revenge porn dating back to his middle school years won a state House seat in Kansas.
Aaron Coleman, a Democrat, will represent the 37th District, which covers part of Kansas City.
Coleman, the great-grandson of a Holocaust survivor, admitted to The Kansas City Star that he called one girl fat and told her to kill herself. She told the newspaper that she did, indeed, attempt suicide. He blackmailed a second girl, threatening to send a nude photo of her to her family and friends unless she sent her more. When the girl did not comply, Coleman sent the photo he had. She told the newspaper that she doesn’t know how Coleman obtained the photo in the first place. A third woman told the newspaper that he harassed her “for months.”
“I made serious mistakes in middle school and I deeply regret and apologize for them. I’ve grown up a great deal since then,” Coleman subsequently told The Star editorial board.
Coleman ousted the incumbent, Stan Frownfelter, with a 14 vote margin in a primary. State Democrats disavowed him and urged voters to write in Frownfelter’s name.
On Twitter on Friday, Coleman said the state’s Democrats had targeted him because he is a progressive. “Instead of labeling me ‘Unfit’ — Why not extend an olive branch and help me to BECOME ‘fit’,” he said.
