‘Quazi-Nazi.’ Dem’s offensive post about Hillary Clinton surfaces. He claims it was altered.

A Facebook post dating back to 2008 shows Midway Mayor and Democratic candidate for state representative Grayson Vandegrift using sexist language, referring to former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by her genitals and making a crude reference to former president Bill Clinton’s affair.

The post on Vandegrift’s personal page, which expresses a preference for then-candidate Barack Obama over Clinton, calls Clinton a “dried up snatch” and “quazi-Nazi.” In the comments, Vandegrift wrote that he’d “get more than just” oral sex “from those interns,” in reference to Clinton’s infamous affair.

Vandegrift apologized for the words, if he wrote them, saying that they do “not represent who I am and what I believe in.” He further suggested that the words in the post might have been altered by bad actors. He is running in the 56th House District, which is anchored by Woodford County but also includes much of Eastern Franklin County and a portion of Jessamine County near Wilmore, against Rep. Dan Fister, R-Versailles.

Citing the fact that the post was edited more than a year ago – proven by a marking on the post before it was deleted that stated it was edited on May 5, 2021 – Vandegrift said that he believes much or all of the offensive material could have been added to the post by bad actors. He said he does not recall editing the 14 year-old post at that time. The post was deleted on Thursday after the Herald-Leader contacted Vandegrift.

“The Facebook history suspiciously lists the post as last edited on May 5, 2021, one month after I announced my candidacy. I have no recollection whatsoever of writing this note, but if I were so stupid at the age of 25 to write such hurtful things I would regret it terribly. It does not represent who I am and what I believe in,” Vandegrift said in a statement.

The portion referring to Hillary Clinton’s genitals was included in the body of a post titled “Hillary Clinton is quazi-Nazi.” It also calls Clinton a “manipulative, lying sack of sh*t.“ Much of it is prefaced with the caveat “I’m not a woman hater.” The writing that includes a crude reference to Bill Clinton and fellatio appears under Vandegrift’s name in the comments section. Another comment from Vandegrift calls Hillary Clinton “a swine,” stating that “when she breaks down crying about how much she ‘cares’ it makes me want to puke.”

The edit history on the post, Vandegrift said, is unavailable – leaving him unable to see what the post looked like pre-edit. There’s no way to externally view the edit history on someone else’s post on Facebook.

Vandegrift’s Republican opponent, Fister, has not responded to multiple requests for interviews about the race. However, a campaign spokesperson submitted a statement calling the post “extreme” and “completely inappropriate.”

“This shows how extreme Grayson Vandegrift really is. It is completely inappropriate for someone to joke about sexual acts in elected office,” the statement reads. “This language raises questions about his behavior as Mayor of Midway and shows he will not be able to effectively represent the 56th District. Dan Fister’s upbringing taught him to treat women with dignity and respect.”

Vandegrift claimed in an interview that he believes the offensive content might be “sabotage” because the tone of the writing, he said, does not match his own and some claims are included that he said he knew to be untrue at the time. The post was written in Facebook Notes, an outdated feature on the platform that allowed users to share thoughts at more length than a traditional status update. Other posts around the same time support Vandegrift’s political preference for Obama over Clinton, and disdain for Clinton, during that primary.

Vandegrift closed his statement by making reference to Fister’s support for Kentucky’s trigger ban on abortion, which includes no exceptions for rape or incest.

“The real story here is the lengths that Dan Fister and his cronies will go to to distract from his votes that would make a 9 year old rape victim be forced to give birth. He is clearly panicking to hide the fact that he would give a rapist more rights than their victim,” Vandegrift said.

In previous interviews, Vandegrift said that he believed the abortion issue, which has recently come to the fore with the activation of Kentucky’s trigger ban, would help his chances at winning the 56th House District.

Vandegrift won the Democratic primary against Franklin County’s Ben Nolan by a margin of more than 30 percentage points. His and Fister’s race has become one of the closest-watched of any legislative race in the state, given that before Fister’s 2020 win the seat had been held by Democrats potentially as far back as the Civil War.

Fister and Vandegrift have both raised about $76,000 dollars for their elections, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Fiannce (KREF), making their race one of the most expensive in the state.