UPDATE: Kilroy demands apology from GOP over impostor accusation

The campaign of U.S. House candidate Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus) is asking the Ohio Republican Party to apologize for accusing the campaign of sending an impostor to a parade last weekend.

Last night the Republican Party posted a YouTube video of Kilroy staffers at a parade in Plain City, with a woman seated in the back of a convertable waving to the crowd.

The GOP's video and YouTube label accuses this unidentified woman of being a body-double for Kilroy. 

Kilroy communications director Brad Bauman was asked by PolitickerOH.com this morning whether Kilroy was at the parade early this morning -- before the YouTube video was circulated and before being told about the ORP's accusation that the campaign was using an impostor.

"No, she was not, our staff was though. We had a staff of about 9 or 10 at the parade," Bauman said.

When Bauman was told of the accusation, he was outraged.

"That has to be the most laughable f------ thing I have ever heard," he said.

Bauman asked the party to take down the video and apologize to the Kilroy staffer.

"This is one of the lowest, most disgusting attacks I have seen but I'm not surprised. The Ohio Republican Party is desperate and will clearly use any lowbrow tactic they can to try to get a career lobbyist elected, Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Mike DeWine owes our volunteer an apology, and the party must take this video down," he said.

ORP communications director John McClelland said the Kilroy campaign can expect no such apology.

"I'm not apologizing and I'm not taking down the video," McCelland said. "Mary Jo ought to apologize for sending an impostor."

McClelland defended the impostor charge.

"Typically when you're in a parade, and you've got someone in the back seat of a car, waving to the crowd, they're the candidate," McClelland said. "If Mary Jo doesn't have time to go out to the parade and wants to send somebody to wave in her place, she can do that and we can say that that's an impostor."

Bauman said state Sen. Steve Stivers' (R-Columbus) campaign manager Mike Hartley filmed the video and the Stivers campaign is not being forthright.

"I don't think it's right for the Stivers campaign to hide behind the ORP on this," Bauman said.

UPDATE: Hartley responded to Bauman's accusation by saying the Kilroy campaign is far more guilty of hiding behind its own party.

"I find that funny since the Ohio Democratic Party has been doing the dirty work for Mary Jo Kilroy this entire campaign," Hartley said.

UPDATE II: The Kilroy campaign sent a follow-up release that said "the volunteer in question has an intellectual disability and wanted to rest after a long parade route on a 90 degree day and so rode in the parade car for the last minutes of the parade."

McClelland responded by saying Kilroy's campaign should quit focusing on the video.

"Mary Jo Kilroy needs to spend some more time about how she’s going to address the issues in this distrct than worry about this video," McClelland said.