Elder forcefully denies brandishing weapon on ex-fiancee: ‘Politics of personal destruction’

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Republican California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder forcefully denied a claim from his former fiancee that he brandished a gun during an argument the two had in 2015.

“I have never brandished a gun at anyone. I grew up in South Central; I know exactly how destructive this type of behavior is. It’s not me, and everyone who knows me knows it’s not me. These are salacious allegations,” Elder said Thursday evening on Twitter.

“People do not get into public life precisely because of this type of politics of personal destruction. I am not going to dignify this with a response–it’s beneath me,” he added. “While my opponents and the Newsom campaign would love to keep voters distracted, I am going to stay focused on the issues that inspired 1.7 million Californians to petition for this recall.”

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His statement follows a claim from Alexandra Datig that she broke off their 18-month engagement in 2015 after Elder waved a gun at her during an argument.

“He was in the bedroom, and I was standing by the door,” Dating recounted, Politico reported Thursday. “We talked to each other.’

He then allegedly fell silent, “walked over to the nightstand, opened the door, took out the gun,” a .45 pistol.

“And he checked if it was loaded — while I was talking,” she said, adding she, “thought it was a Phil Spector moment.”

“He wanted to make sure I saw that he had it.”

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“It was an act of silent scorn — and anger,” she said, claiming that Elder had also smoked marijuana before the incident.

Elder leads the pack of Republican candidates looking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall election, receiving 18% support from likely voters in a July poll. While former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and 2018 gubernatorial candidate John Cox both received 10% support in the poll.

Another poll released Sunday found that 52% of likely voters in the recall election said Newsom should not be ousted, while 48% called for him to be recalled.

The recall election comes after harsh criticisms of Newsom’s coronavirus handling, including last November when the Democratic governor was spotted dining in a swanky restaurant maskless and surrounded by people from outside of his own household.

“He was sitting with the very same lobbyists and medical professionals who drafted the mandates they were violating by not wearing masks and by not socially distancing,” Elder said in July of Newsom’s dinner, calling it “hypocrisy.”

Newsom has meanwhile criticized Elder as “right of Donald Trump.”

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“He’s to the right of Donald Trump. To the right of Donald Trump. That’s what’s at stake in this election and don’t think for a second you can’t do damage in that role. Think about the judges he could appoint. Who would he have appointed to replace Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate? How would that impact the trajectory of this country. What would this mean for the future of the Democratic party in our efforts to keep the House of Representatives,” Newsom said last Friday in San Francisco.