A top aide to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson gave thousands of dollars to Democrats and none to national Republicans in the last few years.
Doug Watts works as Carson’s communications director, and statements from him can be found in countless of stories about the candidate, Politico reports. But in recent years, when Watts gave money to politicians, it has been to California Democrats. He gave $1,000 to Jerry Brown in 2006 when he ran for attorney general, then another $2,210 when he ran for governor in 2010. Also in 2010, he gave $1,000 to help Barbara Boxer defeat Carly Fiorina, now one of Carson’s rivals for the Republican nomination. In 2004, he gave $1,000 to Democratic Rep. [crscore]Jim Costa[/crscore]. (RELATED: Ben Carson Hires To Veteran Republican Operatives)
It’s not simply a case of Watts being a dyed-in-the-wool Dem his whole life, though. Early in his career, he worked extensively in California GOP politics, helping run Ronald Reagan’s 1984 presidential campaign in the state and also working for Republican Gov. George Deukmejian. In 1998, he gave $250 to the campaign of Republican Al D’Amato, a senator from New York.
Watts’ donations could be identified because donations under that name included his affiliation with Urban Media Group, a company he’s been president of since 2004.
If Watts’ attitudes have wobbled over time, it makes him no different from his boss. Carson admitted he once was “a pretty left-wing Democrat” before shifting right later in life. (RELATED: Ben Carson: ‘I Used To Be A Pretty Left Wing Democrat’)
The donations to Brown are ironic, though, because recently Carson and Brown have been in a spat over global warming. Last month, Brown sent a public letter to Carson pressuring him to change his position on climate change, which provoked a defense from Watts where he characterized Carson as a “climate questioner” rather than a “climate denier.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Carson’s campaign for comment and received a one-word reply from Watts: “Silly.”
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