Days before primary, Mannix accuses pro-life opponent of paying for abortion

Rumors of drugs, sex and an abortion: the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District got ugly eight days before the primary.

Today Kevin Mannix went public with accusations that his opponent Mike Erickson impregnated a young woman and then paid for her abortion. The campaign based the accusations on an e-mail from a friend of the young woman in question that details a list of offenses by Erickson.

"I was surprised to see that the Mike Erickson, who in 2000 was having wild parties involving cocaine use on his house boat, was running for office," the e-mail states.

The author said she was driven to speak out by campaign literature that discussed Erickson's pro-life stance. According to the Mannix campaign, the woman wrote "where were these ideals in the year 2000 when he drove my friend (whom he impregnated) to an abortion clinic in NE Portland, handed her some cash, and left her at the door."

Despite attempts to contact the e-mail's author, these claims could not be verified by PolitickerOR.com.

Mannix's campaign released a letter which the Republican candidate intends to send to voters discussing primary opponent Mike Erickson's credibility and pro-life credentials. Mannix's letter starts off stating that "recently, I have been presented with extremely disturbing information about...Erickson, and the disrespectful way he treated a young woman."

Mannix noted that he was reluctant to release the information and the campaign did so only investigating the claim.

"The email is verified and sheds light on the character of Mike Erickson who claims he is pro-life yet he paid for an abortion and left the woman at a clinic," said Amy Langdon, Mannix's campaign manager. "It is critical to share this woman's story with the voters of CD 5 as they make the decision as to who will be the Republican nominee."

PolitickerOR.com has contacted the Erickson campaign and is waiting for a response.

UPDATE, 3:39 p.m.:

• Erickson campaign denies the allegations