GOP Chair: Party Firing Staffer For Tweet Blasted As Racist

ST. PAUL (AP) - The chairman of Minnesota's Republican party says a local party's social media manager is being fired for referring to a "Negro problem" on Twitter.

The 7th Congressional District GOP's Twitter account linked to an online blog Monday night that blamed Democrats for ongoing issues in Minnesota's black community. The party's tweet quoted the blog with the hashtag "Negroproblem."

The tweet has since been deleted but Democrats immediately cried foul. Minnesota's DFL Party Chair Ken Martin called the comments "racist and bigoted" in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Minnesota pointed to GOP chairman Keith Downey's own Twitter account for a response. Downey wrote that the local party's Twitter account has been placed on a moratorium and said the manager is being relieved of duties.