WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -A candidate for the state senate is demanding that his political opponent stop his attack ads immediately.
Dr. David Hill, the Democratic candidate for the 7th district says his Republican opponent, Senator Michael Lee is spreading lies.
Hill’s attorneys have sent Lee a letter demanding that he cease and desist.
A political commercial airing almost daily leading up to election day is now the center of a legal battle.
Senator Michael Lee’s Democratic challenger David Hill filed a cease-and-desist order demanding a retraction and apology for campaign ads claiming Hill strongly supports “sex-change surgery” for children.
The cited source for the claim was a 2021 blog post, a post that contains no language supporting a claim regarding sex-change surgery.
Hill’s legal counsel said that the referenced article instead concerns surgical emergencies relating to intestinal blockages.
“The only thing that Dr. Hill cares about is that any medical decision should remain between the doctor and the patient. If anything, Michael Lee is trying to distract from that; this is a false and misleading statement that they should not believe,” said New Hanover County Democratic Party Chair, Jill Hopman.
The letter goes on to say that the ads are contributing to social media outrage.
Hill also takes issue with a television advertisement run by Lee’s committee labeling him as a “quack.”
According to the cease-and-desist letter, the word is reserved for medical practitioners who are ignorant, misinformed, and dishonest.
“Dr. Hill has been a pediatrician for over twenty years and you really only go negative and attack someone to this kind of degree if you’re afraid to lose or want to distract voters in some way,” said Hopman.
Senator Michael Lee has responded to a cease and desist letter sent by Dr. David Hill, saying several parts are false.
WECT reached out to Senator Michael Lee several times for an interview and he said he was unavailable but did send a statement saying quote, “The ads you have seen, and the ones referred to in David’s press release (and corresponding attorney letter) are accurate, without question,” said Lee.
In reference to calling Dr. Hill a “quack” in the commercial, Lee had this to say, “As to use of the word “quack”, a plain reading of the mailer that went out from the Majority Fund states, “quack liberal”. The ad is about David’s extreme liberal ideology on three important issues. The ad was never intended to, nor does it state, anything about his competence to practice medicine, but explicitly calls into question his stance on these important issues,” said Lee.
So what comes next?
“I think the campaign is going to review this decision and Lee’s response, but the campaign does have many options,” said Hopman.
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