John Chung, a Democratic candidate for the District 66 seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, was quite surprised when he received his mail on Friday morning.

In it was a political flier supporting Mr. Chung's opponent, Liana Cassar.

"…I was surprised by how factually inaccurate it was," said Mr. Chung. "It accuses me of several things which are inaccurate."

The mailer displays a picture of Ms. Cassar next to four green checkmarks — one checkmark each for "Protect access to birth control," "Supports keeping guns out of schools," "Will fight to protect access to safe and legal abortion," and "Will fight for fair pay for women for equal work."

Next to Mr. Chung's name are four red "X's."

"One of the things is it accuses me of being against abortion. On my website I have two lengthy posts about the need to protect Roe v. Wade and urging the (Rhode Island) general assembly to protect Roe v. Wade," said Mr. Chung.

There was also a red "X" next to Mr. Chung's name for "Supports keeping guns out of schools."

Mr. Chung said that, too, is wrong. The Barrington resident said he is in favor of increased gun control measures and even testified at the Rhode Island Statehouse on the matter earlier this year.

"I am shocked," he said. "I never expected to see this in Barrington politics."

In an email, Ms. Cassar wrote that she had started receiving some "hostile blowback" from the mailer. 

The Barrington resident wrote that the piece of mail was created by the Rhode Island Values Project — the top donors for that group are Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence. 

Ms. Cassar wrote that she was as surprised by the mailer as the voters who received it. She also submitted a statement intended to serve as an official response to the situation.

It stated, in part, that the Speaker of the House has contributed a maximum donation to Mr. Chung's campaign. 

"As a legislator with an A rating from the NRA and an endorsement from RI Right to Life, along with a track record of being an obstructionist on the issues of reproductive health and restrictions on access to guns, the Speaker is sending a clear signal to Barrington and Riverside voters, as well as to Mr. Chung," she said. 

"The Speaker is showing us he believes it’s acceptable to meddle in the District 66 race and he has no intention of being open to legislators who support women's reproductive freedom and gun legislation to keep our communities safe."

Mr. Chung said his positions on the issues of women's reproductive rights and gun control are clearly stated on his website — he supports both issues. He said "I really believe that Rhode Island law needs to protect Roe v. Wade. I want to make sure that the rights protected under Roe v. Wade remain protected in Rhode Island."

Mr. Chung said he was shocked by the inaccuracies contained in the political flier. The first-time candidate then said the situation will not stop him from pursuing the District 66 seat in the House of Representatives.

"I think there are a lot of important issues at stake," he said.

"I would not say that my reaction is anger. It was really more disappointment. When I saw this, I was reminded of what Michelle Obama said — 'When they go low, we go high.'"