Top Democratic Party leader faces backlash after wishing death upon Lindsey Graham after senator contracts COVID-19

A top Democratic Party official in Rhode Island is apologizing Tuesday after facing backlash for wishing death upon Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who announced Monday that he had contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.

What is the background?

Graham revealed that he is experiencing "mild symptoms" after testing positive for COVID-19. He also praised the COVID-19 vaccine, saying he would probably feel much worse without it.

"I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms. I will be quarantining for ten days," Graham said. "I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse."

What did the party official say?

Political strategist Kate Coyne-McCoy of the Rhode Island Democratic Party responded to Graham's diagnosis by wishing he would die from the virus.

"It's wrong to hope he dies from Covid right? Asking for a friend," Coyne-McCoy said, adding the hashtags, "#COVIDISNOTOVER" and "#LINDSEYGRAHAM."

Coyne-McCoy quickly deleted the tweet after it began generating attention — and backlash — online. But, as they say, the internet lives forever.

Coyne-McCoy is not your typical political strategist. When she was hired by the Rhode Island Democratic Party in March, the party said she would "develop and implement programs that will modernize the party and position Democrats to win from the top to the bottom of the ballot."

She is essentially the co-leader of the state Democratic Party. Her Twitter bio states that she is "leading" the state party.

In fact, Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairman Joseph McNamara, speaking of her hiring, said he and Coyne-McCoy would be "working closely" as "we build an even stronger party."

What did her apology say?

Coyne-McCoy posted an apology Tuesday morning, saying she regretted exercising "poor judgement."

"I made a mistake. I used poor judgement which I obviously regret," she said.

The apology quickly generated more than a thousand responses, with most people expressing disbelief that Coyne-McCoy genuinely regretted what she wrote.

• "It's not a mistake when you think it through enough to type it out. Come on! You've been around long enough to know that you were going to get called out on it. The only regret you have is getting caught," one person said.
• "No you regret the backlash. You meant your words, there was no mistake," another person said.
• "You didn't make a mistake. You said it because you wanted it," one person wrote in response.
• "There is a difference between poor judgement and gross negligence, especially from someone in a leading role," another person pointed out.

The Rhode Island Democratic Party did not return a request for comment from TheBlaze.