Laura Oatman, a former Democratic candidate in California's 48th Congressional District jungle primary, said at a Sunday rally for the ultimate Democratic nominee, Harley Rouda, "This is Civil War II, guys!"
"Together we, all of us, are going to make this happen. [Rouda] is on the ballot because of 126 votes," she said.
Oatman dropped out of the race before the primary due to the nature of California's jungle primary system. In that system, the top two finishers in a nonpartisan primary make it to the general election. Oatman dropped out of the race out of a fear of splitting the Democratic vote and endorsed Rouda, who will face Republican incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in November.
"For the next three months our lives are going to be devoted, devoted and dedicated, to making sure that everybody we know and everybody we don’t know gets out to vote," Oatman said.
"This is Civil War II, guys!" Oatman said to applause. "So, Civil War II, all right. We're not using bullets. We're using our voices."
NRCC Spokesman Jack Pandol condemned Oatman for the comments and called on Rouda to disavow the former candidate's rhetoric.
"Laura Oatman’s call to arms at a Harley Rouda campaign event is the kind of dangerous and irresponsible language we’ve come to expect from today’s Democratic Party. Silence is not an option – Harley Rouda should disavow Oatman’s comments immediately," he said.
Rouda has previously tweeted it was an honor to campaign with Oatman. "It has been one of my greatest honors to campaign along side you," he said in March.