At a forum for Republican candidates running in the 6th Congressional District yesterday, conservative candidate Sery Kim condemned Chinese immigration to the United States.

“I don’t want them here at all,” she said. “They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronavirus, they don’t hold themselves accountable.”

Kim went on to defend her comments by citing her Korean heritage and draw on her own experience to dismiss reports of a rise in hate crimes involving Asian-American victims.

Kim has since defended her comments on Twitter, asserting: “China jails and kills Christians;  China uses immigration to steal America’s intellectual property; China created coronavirus in a Wuhan lab; China is a threat to American security; We must hold China accountable.”

Following the death of Rep. Ron Wright (TX-R) in February and Gov. Greg Abbott’s subsequent announcement that a special election in the 6th Congressional District would take place on May 1st, a total of 23 candidates have filed to run. 

Prominent Republican contenders for the seat include Wright’s widow and longtime GOP activist Susan Wright, Rep. Jake Ellzey, and former DHS chief of staff Brian Harrison. 2018 Democratic nominee for the seat Jana Sanchez, former Assistant Direct of Field Operations Patrick Moses, and former state house candidate Lydia Bean are among Democrat hopefuls.

Kim, a lifelong Texan, attorney, and former Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under former-President Donald J. Trump, announced her decision to run in late February and has since attracted an endorsement rom former ICE director Tony Pham.