Fort Bend County Judge KP George and challenger Trever Nehls spar over hate messages made public

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Fort Bend County's top elected official is speaking out over what he says is a rise in hate speech towards him ahead of the November election. On Wednesday, his opponent pushed back, alleging racial politics.

Judge KP George, an Indian-American immigrant elected by the county in 2019, shared a letter with ABC13 this week that describes a rise in hateful and xenophobic comments directed towards him on social media. In an interview with Eyewitness News, George said he's gotten forms of hateful rhetoric for years, but now, just a little more than a month away from early voting for the November election, the hate speech is heating up.

"We are now around 34 days away from early voting, and it is moving to an all-time high. The last few weeks, we've received more than a hundred hate conversations from various people," George said.

George shared screenshots of xenophobic comments on his social media page this week, arranged around a campaign photo of his opponent Trever Nehls, with many of the comments referencing support for Nehls and linking to his website. George says Nehls should denounce the comments.

"This has to stop. And the sad thing about it is many of these people are my opponent's supporters. I haven't heard anything from (Nehls) denouncing these actions. And that is concerning. Many of these people are tagging and linking his website in their messages. And if he's not part of this or he doesn't appreciate this, he needs to come out and say that," George said.

Nehls responded on Wednesday.

In a statement to ABC13, Nehls wrote, "This is typical from far left Democrats. They do everything they can to turn elections into an issue of racial division to distract from their failures of leadership...We desperately need a change of leadership in the Fort Bend County Judge's office or we'll face the same out of control crime like our neighbors in Harris County."

SEE ALSO: 'I am an American, a U.S. citizen by choice': Meet Fort Bend County Judge KP George

Judge K.P. George shares his journey from India to Houston, how he got into politics, the racism he has experienced, and why it's so important to have diversity in government.

Twin of Fort Bend County sheriff Troy Nehls wins GOP primary while deployed overseas

Watch the video above to learn more about Troy Nehls' twin, Trever, who is running for Troy's position!

For updates on this story, follow Jonathan Bruce on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.