19 July, 2017
Deedra Abboud hopes that she'll be the one to unseat Jeff Flake, the Republican senator from Arizona, in next year's midterm elections.
Since then, the tenor seems to have balanced out somewhat, with many commenters wishing Abboud well and criticizing Islamophobia.
"Hang in there @deedra2018", Flake tweeted.
Hang in there @deedra2018. Abboud, a Muslim woman, posted on her Facebook page a message regarding the constitutional separation of church and state.
"Nice try but your first love is Satan (AKA Allah) and your second love is to a litter box your "people" come from", said S. Jason Parr. Lots of wonderful people across AZ. "You are as American as Chinese checkers". "WE HATE YOUR FILTHY DEATH CULT", another user wrote.
Abboud is from Little Rock, Ark., and now works as a lawyer based in Phoenix.
"Thank you @JeffFlake for leadership in rejecting behavior that doesn't reflect our American values". Jeff Flake in 2018, reports the Hill, but the fact that she's also a Muslim has spurred a flood of Islamophobic comments on her social media posts and videos. "AZ's awesome people deserve more than this", she tweeted.
Mr Flake has come to the defence of Muslims in Arizona before.
Abboud, who is running in the Democratic primary for Flake's seat in 2018, has faced a barrage of hateful comments about being Muslim. But it was Flake himself who appeared on Twitter on Tuesday night with an online message of support for his political adversary.
