Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, is facing tough criticism from six of his siblings.
On Friday, the congressman’s Democratic opponent Dr. David Brill released a brutal new campaign advertisement featuring Grace Gosar, David Gosar, Jennifer Gosar, Tim Gosar, Joan Gosar and Gaston Gosar, who all lambast their brother over his stances on health care, jobs, social security, environmental policy and more.
“Paul Gosar the congressman isn’t doing anything to help rural America,” Grace, a physician, says in the clip. “If they care about health care, they care about their children’s health care, they would hold him to account. If they care about jobs, they would hold him to account.”
Adds Jennifer, a medical interpreter: “If he actually cared about people in rural Arizona, I bet he’d be fighting for social security, for better access to health care… I bet he would be researching, ‘What is the most insightful water policy to help the environment of Arizona sustain itself and be successful.'”
“Paul’s absolutely not working for his district,” David, a lawyer, says.
“He’s not listening to you and he doesn’t have your interests at heart,” claims Tim, a private investigator.
The ad has since spread rapidly on social media, though Paul — who is the oldest of 10 siblings — did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Paul has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, and won by more than 40 percentage points in 2016, CNN reported. The district is mostly made up of Republican voters, with the network noting that President Donald Trump also won there by 39 points in 2016.
Still, Paul has come under fire in recent months for some of his more views, including his tough stance on immigration (specifically, as CNN reported, the refusal of legal rights for documented “Dreamers”).
The politician also promoted a conspiracy theory that Democtraic donor George Soros financed the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia as a point of propaganda against the right.
Meanwhile, in another ad on Brill’s YouTube page, the six Gosar siblings admit that coming out against their brother isn’t easy. “It’s horrible to have to do this,” says Jennifer.
“None of this is pleasant for any of us,” explains David. “We got to stand up for our good name. This is not who we are.”
“To speak up against my brother, it brings sadness to me,” reveals Joan, an engineer. “I think my brother has traded a lot of the values we had at our kitchen table.”
Tim calls the ad “intervention time,” with Grace saying, “I couldn’t be quiet any longer.”
According to The Phoenix New Times, there’s still more to come from Paul’s siblings. The outlet reported that another spot, which is not public yet but was screened at a fundraiser on Thursday, features Grace claiming, “It would be difficult to see my brother as anything but a racist.”
