Why is Tina Kotek burying endorsements?

Photo credit: Craig Mitchelldyer, AP

Tina Kotek is under fire from a growing number of reports highlighting her silence on questions surrounding her endorsement of a Democrat candidate for the Oregon state house who “knowingly hired a sex offender” as well as on the endorsement she received from an Oregon state senator who repeatedly used racial slurs in a book he authored.

As reported most recently by Fox News, it seems as though Kotek is feeling the pressure with the outlet reporting that she has since moved the endorsement to a less visible page on her website.

Golden’s endorsement, however, appears to have been quietly moved from page one of Kotek’s website’s endorsements tab to the top of page two after a Fox News Digital report revealed the Democrat state senator’s repeated use of the N-word in his 1971 book, “Watermelon Summer.

Kotek’s campaign did not immediately respond when asked by Fox News Digital why the endorsement was moved or if Kotek would reject Golden’s endorsement.

This squeamish behavior is nothing new for the candidate who has earned quite the reputation for dodging responsibility and attempting to bury her ties to other failed legislators.

Similarly, Kotek has seemingly tried to keep the endorsement from Governor Kate Brown under wraps. Instead of touting the endorsement from the sitting governor of her same party like she did for several other prominent Democrats, Kotek quietly posted this press release that groups Brown in with a list of six other women leaders just days after firing off multiple Tweets in praise of the others mentioned above. Leading voters to wonder: why is the former Speaker of the House, once second in command to Governor Brown, not touting her support?

“Based on her track record of silence on a number of unsettling claims, and her attempts to shy away from her record of failures, it comes as no surprise that Tina Kotek is opting for the same tactic when it comes to her ties to these controversial and unpopular leaders,”said RGA Spokeswoman Kaitlin Price. “Oregonians are long overdue for accountable and transparent leaders in Salem; not more of the same complacency that Kotek has already proved she’s a part of.”