Varet Comments On Congresswoman

By
Mark Stevens
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In a political blunder that would be laughable if it weren’t so revealing, California Democrat Esther Kim Varet managed to confuse one Black congresswoman with another—on her own campaign website, no less. While proudly touting an endorsement from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Varet’s team posted a photo of an entirely different Black woman, seemingly under the assumption that no one would notice.

Unfortunately for Varet, everyone noticed.


The image was quickly scrubbed from the site—only after Fox News Digital asked about it—but the damage was already done. It’s the kind of mistake that’s not just embarrassing, but also politically radioactive, especially for a candidate already trailing in the race and struggling to gain traction. It screams carelessness, a lack of basic campaign discipline, and worse, a deeply awkward form of racial insensitivity that undercuts the very progressive values Varet claims to champion.

Republicans wasted no time pouncing. Christian Martinez, national Hispanic press secretary for the NRCC, called out Varet’s campaign in a brutal post on X, labeling her “racist, arrogant, totally out of touch,” and adding, “Good thing @estherkimvaret’s hate-filled, bigoted self isn’t getting anywhere near Congress.” A harsh rebuke? Yes. But one that landed with force because Varet handed her critics the ammunition herself.


And here’s the deeper irony: Esther Kim Varet is running against Young Kim, a Republican and fellow Korean-American immigrant, in California’s 40th Congressional District—a highly competitive and culturally diverse battleground. Yet instead of positioning herself as a serious alternative, Varet has repeatedly undermined her own credibility.

In a now-infamous social media post, she referred to Rep. Kim as an “ESL puppet,” a slur that not only insults English language learners but also reduces her opponent—a woman who immigrated to the U.S., earned her citizenship, and won elected office—to a caricature. So much for inclusivity.

Now, she’s somehow managed to confuse one of the highest-profile Black progressives in Congress with a random woman—in the process revealing a staggering lack of attention to detail, not to mention basic respect for the people whose support she seeks to weaponize for political capital.


Jasmine Crockett herself hasn’t publicly responded to the photo mix-up yet, but it would be understandable if she kept her distance going forward. After all, if a campaign can’t even be trusted to identify their endorsers correctly, how can they be trusted to represent a district?

Whether this is ignorance, arrogance, or just plain amateur hour, it’s one more reason voters—on both sides—expect better from their candidates

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