Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says 'racism within the Democratic Party' is '800 lb gorilla in the room'

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Johnson criticized Matthew Dowd for dropping out of the Texas Lt. Gov. race to allow for more diversity.

Democratic Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson claimed Wednesday that racism exists in the Democratic Party and likened it to an "800 lb gorilla in the room" that everyone pretends doesn't exist.

"I’m confused and a little disturbed by the reasoning here," Johnson tweeted in a response to a statement from Matthew Dowd, who dropped out of the race for Texas lieutenant governor earlier this week to allow for a more "diverse" field."Campaigns are precisely for the purpose of selecting the BEST candidate," Johnson continued. "It seems my friend is saying that Democratic primary voters are incapable of nominating women and minorities if there is a white man on the ballot?" 

"The problem is NOT white men running for office. The problem is the 800 lb gorilla in the room, which is the racism within the Democratic Party that many pretend doesn’t exist. So the solution isn’t folks like Dowd 'yielding' to candidates of color. It’s addressing the racism," he added.