In the emotionally charged days following last weekend’s deadly Charlottesville, Virginia, rally, North Country congressional candidates shared their thoughts on the clashes between white nationalist groups with counter-protesters.

The situation escalated from a protest of the removal of Confederate monuments to a state of emergency. Later, a driver crashed his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring 19 other people.

The North Country’s U.S. representative, Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, issued a statement through a spokesman that “ideologies such as white supremacy are morally repugnant and have no place in our society.” It echoed a statement she had posted on her Facebook page Saturday.

“Congresswoman Stefanik has been clear in her condemnation of the violence in Charlottesville,” the spokesman added. “As news of the events broke, the Congresswoman took to social media to condemn hatred and bigotry.”

Challengers aiming to run against Stefanik in 2018 also released statements or provided their thoughts on the events in Charlottesville.

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Russ Finley, Republican, Lisbon

“As a [former] member of the the U.S. bobsled team, I have traveled all over this world. When you look at the teams from all the other countries, they are indicative of the specific race of the nation they represent. However, when you look at the U.S. team, it represents all colors and creeds of all the nations we have welcomed into this great nation of ours. So, therefore, that alone is proof we are the least racist nation in the world!

“That being said, I denounce the actions of the white supremacists that murdered the woman in Charlottesville the same way I denounce the Black Lives Matters activists that murdered five police officers in Dallas. The bottom line: In the least racist country in the world, I denounce all violence against any American citizen regardless of race, color, creed or for any reason!”

Leaders associated with the Black Lives Matter movement condemned the Dallas shooting and said the killer, Micah Johnson, acted alone.

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Tedra Cobb, Democrat, Canton

“White supremacy is as old as our republic. It’s a shameful legacy rooted in systemic oppression and violence against people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community. White supremacists and those complicit by their silence ignore our shared humanity. President Trump misunderstands the American people’s fundamental sense of fairness and justice. He’s on the wrong side of history with his defense of neo-nazis, Klansmen and separatists through his equivocations about ‘all sides.’

“There are not ‘many sides’ to this issue. There is right and wrong and it is for each of us to choose the right side. The right side cannot remain silent. Should I be elected, I would work to rename all federal installations currently named in honor of people who served who had their citizenship stripped for their part in the Civil War, such as Camp Beauregard and Fort Gordon. We are talking about taxpayer dollars supporting bases populated with soldiers of color and women named to honor white supremacists. It’s a bad idea.”

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Emily Martz, Democrat, Saranac Lake

“The demands in Charlottesville for white supremacists to join forces, and their calls to remove all Jews and non-whites are appalling. That people feel empowered to display their racism and anti-Semitism in public squares puts our nation in a very dark place.

“After watching footage of the weekend and hearing the chants and promises from the white supremacists, I am appalled that the leader of our country chose not to condemn the actions and words of the white supremacists in the strongest possible way.

“This weekend was a reminder that peace, like democracy, is hard, never-ending work, and our president should lead this work and call out those who feel free to preach violence and hate against our non-white and Jewish neighbors.”

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Patrick Nelson, Democrat, Stillwater

“President Trump receded to his original statement [Tuesday] by blaming both sides of the protest in Charlottesville. This sparked reactions from many leaders around the United States, from both political parties, to take to social media to condemn Trump’s words. However, there hasn’t been any reaction from Congresswoman Stefanik over the President’s comments yesterday.

“At a time of civil unrest in the United States, citizens need leaders to stand up for our American values especially when our President will not. This is beyond politics and campaigns. If the Congresswoman is cynically trying to a walk a line between Americans and neo-Nazis for fear of losing political support, she should be ashamed of herself. It’s time for the Congresswoman to join fellow Republicans like John McCain in putting her country before her political party and career.”

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Katie Wilson, Democrat, Keene

“I think we have to draw a line somewhere, and Nazis would be a great place to start. America was never created to protect hate groups — that was not our forefathers’ intention. When an attack by any hate group, or collection thereof, occurs here in America, we have a responsibility to call it by it’s name and take immediate measures to condemn the behavior. If our leaders fail to do this, we’re no better off than the myriad other countries battling hate and terrorism — countries we’ve had to send our brave servicemen and women off to fight in for these very reasons.

“I think we have to ask ourselves who we are right now. Are we like the textbooks say, a melting pot where anyone willing to keep their nose clean and work hard can have the opportunity to prosper? Or, are we a country willing to embolden and justify hate groups by normalizing racist acts of violence in our own streets?

“We also need to take a look at history in order to put these events into perspective. For far too long in America people who did not have white skin were thought not to possess souls. We need to remember the events of today are an extension of these very attitudes that existed not so long ago. Simply calling for unity now undermines the history of hatred and racism in our country. And, frankly, unifying extremists is impossible.”

Don Boyajian, Democrat, Cambridge

“There is no place for hate and bigotry in the fabric of our democracy. As a descendant of survivors of the Armenian genocide, I am all too familiar with the dangerous path that a nation can go down when it chooses not fight against hateful ideologies. The administration’s response is appalling. We must hold our elected officials accountable, and further, we must unite as a country to stand up against these hate-filled sentiments.”