Kern's People Get Personal

Supporters of Oklahoma Republican state representative Sally Kern have launched personal attacks against her Democratic opponent, transgender lawyer Brittany Novotny.

An e-mail from the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee to its members on September 7 called Novotny a "confused it" and accused her of having "hatred toward God," according to Novotny's campaign.

"If Rep. Kern and her allies spent as much time focusing on Oklahoma's future as they seem to spend worrying about my past, maybe we could keep teachers in the classroom and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure," Novotny said. "This type of personal attack is what Oklahomans are tired of, and it shows why Kern and her political allies continue to be out of touch with mainstream Oklahoma values."

Novotny has posted the full letter on her website here.

In March, Novotny told The Advocate that Kern had said she would focus only on the political differences between them without hitting below the belt.

"Certainly there are third parties out there who may not listen to me and may go ahead and personally attack her, just like she may have supporters that don't take the lead from her and personally attack me," Novotny said. "It happens. I hope that those voices are kept to a minimum and they don't overshadow the campaign, because I really do think there are some serious differences in how we see the future of Oklahoma and what we think will be best for our economic development."