Kilpatrick admits son’s scandal damages her

Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) acknowledged Thursday that the scandals engulfing her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, are hurting her chances for reelection.

{mosads}“I’ve done polling and yes, it has impacted it,” Kilpatrick said Thursday in an interview taped for C-SPAN’s Newsmakers. “I’ll have a difficult race. That’s OK. It’s part of the election process. And I accept that.”

The mayor has been accused of lying under oath about having an intimate relationship and about his roles in the firing of a police officer. He faces eight felony counts, and the Detroit City Council is trying to remove him from office.

The congresswoman, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, is being challenged in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary by former state Rep. Mary Waters and state Sen. Martha Scott. Waters has run television advertisements focusing on the scandal. Scott has not made an issue of it.

The lawmaker continues to stand by her son, despite calls for his resignation.

“I don’t advocate that he resign,” she said in the interview.