Six siblings of GOP congressman endorse his opponent in viral campaign ad

It's not unusual for siblings to disagree with each other. It is remarkable, however, when those disagreements are aired in a campaign ad.

Six of Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar's nine siblings appeared in a campaign ad for David Brill, Gosar's Democratic opponent in the upcoming midterm election. The siblings -- Tim, Jennifer, Gaston, Joan, Grace and David Gosar-- say they are making a values-based endorsement of Brill, and that their brother is too extreme in his views.

"I think my brother has traded a lot of the values we had at our kitchen table," said his sister, Joan, in the ad.

"I couldn't be quiet any longer. Nor should any of us be," said another sister, Grace. David said the siblings had to "stand up for our good name."

"It's intervention time," said another brother, Tim. "And intervention time means that you go to vote, and you go to vote Paul out."

In an interview with The Washington Post, David Gosar said he and Paul Gosar split when Gosar told him he believed the "birther" theory that President Obama was not born in the United States.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, you have to be kidding me,' and then he went and got elected," David Gosar told the publication on Saturday. "I'm not going to break bread with a racist."

Paul Gosar responded with a series of tweets on his personal Twitter account. He noted that none of his siblings live in Arizona. "My siblings who chose to film ads against me are all liberal Democrats who hate President Trump. These disgruntled Hillary suppporters are related by blood to me but like leftists everywhere, they put political ideology before family. Stalin would be proud. #Az04 #MAGA2018," Gosar tweeted.

"You can't pick your family. We all have crazy aunts and relatives etc and my family is no different. I hope they find peace in their hearts and let go all the hate. To the six angry Democrat Gosars—see you at Mom and Dad's house! #AZ04 #MAGA2018," Gosar wrote in another tweet.

Gosar, who has been in office since 2013, has made headlines for his controversial actions. When Pope Francis visited Congress in 2015, Gosar was the only member of Congress who did not attend his address, because the pope spoke about climate change. In 2017, he promoted a right-wing conspiracy theory that the violent protest by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, was orchestrated by left-wing activists to undermine President Trump.  

In another advertisement including the Gosar siblings, the brothers and sisters say that Gosar is not representing Arizona or its values.

"Paul Gosar the congressman isn't doing anything to help rural America," Grace said. 

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• U.S. House of Representatives