A North Carolina congressional candidate claims a Russian bought a web domain she used when campaigning for another office two years ago.
Democrat Linda Coleman said her staff learned about the meddling last week after searching for her name on Google and coming across the website.
When a staffer clicked on the link it goes directly to another page promoting male performance enhancement drugs in a foreign language.
Ivan Gusev, who lists his address as a Moscow apartment, bought the web address in January, which she used when she ran for lieutenant governor in 2016, according to the News & Observer.
Democrat Linda Coleman claims a Russian bought a web domain she used when campaigning for another office two years ago
Coleman said her staff learned about the meddling last week after searching for her name on Google and coming across the website. When a staffer clicked on the link it goes directly to another page promoting male performance enhancement drugs in a foreign language
The newspaper said the phone number tied to the account’s owner doesn’t work and emails weren’t returned.
Coleman said she didn’t know why the Russian-based website was created and urged other political candidates “to be vigilant.”
‘We all need to be wary and protect ourselves from similar attempts to deceive our voters and the general public,’ she told the paper.
‘Underhanded and deceptive strategies like this one only thrive when people choose not to speak out about what they see before them.’
Her campaign has contacted the FBI, the state Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, and state Attorney General Josh Stein’s office about the matter.
Coleman is seeking her party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Republican George Holding in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District in the Raleigh area
The state elections board told the News and Observer it has contacted the US Department of Homeland Security by phone and email.
‘We obviously take the security of North Carolina elections very seriously,’ spokesman Patrick Gannon told the paper.
‘To that end, we are in frequent contact with staff at the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen our defenses against issues like those flagged by the Coleman campaign today.’
Stein’s office said it has been in touch with Coleman’s campaign, but said it is ultimately up to federal authorities to investigate.
Coleman said she didn’t renew her old domain name when she decided to run for the House of Representatives because the campaign is for a different office.
At the bottom of Coleman’s page is a MVAR Media logo – but the company told WTVD it doesn’t manage the website.
Coleman is seeking her party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Republican George Holding in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District in the Raleigh area.