New Jersey GOP congressional candidate Seth Grossman. Image by facebook

A Republican Jewish candidate who said “diversity is a bunch of crap” lost his race for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District seat — and he blames the “distraction” of refuting claims that he’s racist, NJ.com reported.

Seth Grossman, who lost the support of the GOP when it was revealed that he shared articles from white nationalist websites on his Facebook page, told NJ.com on Wednesday that he’s confident he could’ve won, if his potential constituents weren’t so offended by his rhetoric.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that if I did not have unnecessary distractions thrown into my path I would have won yesterday’s election as a pro-Trump candidate because this is a pro-Trump district,” he said. “I was distracted trying to prove I’m not a racist.”

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Democrat Jeff Van Drew beat him 52.3%-45.9% in the midterm election on Tuesday.

American Bridge, a pro-Democratic Super PAC, leaked a video over the summer of Grossman saying diversity is “a bunch of crap and un-American,” according to Talking Points Memo. The candidate stood by his comments.

Grossman said there was a lull in donations following the accusations of racism, and support didn’t pick up until mid-August.

“I was (then) generating interest and activity, but the point is, it was too late,” he told NJ.com.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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