STUART, Va. (rbs news now) — A candidate forum for Virginia’s 9th Congressional District turned tense Saturday after a disagreement between Democratic candidates Joy Powers and Douglas Crockett over race and residency comments led to a confrontation before the event began.

The forum, hosted by the Patrick County Democratic Committee at the Star Theatre in Stuart, featured candidates Powers, Crockett and Adam Murphy as they seek the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith.

The disagreement stemmed from a social media post by Powers in which she said the district deserved someone who had lived in rural Virginia and within the 9th District.

During a post-forum interview with rbs news now, Powers said emotions escalated before the event and confirmed she was told to “shut my mouth.”

“I think that politics bring out a lot of emotions from people,” Powers said. “I do believe that this district deserves someone who has lived in rural Virginia and especially in our district. As a woman, I was told to shut my mouth. It’s not the first time it’s happened in politics. It probably won’t be the last, but you know what? I’m tough enough to handle it.”

Powers also described herself as a fourth-generation Bedford County beef cattle farmer, former foster parent and advocate for rural policy.

“I’m running for Congress because I know we deserve better than what we have,” she said.

Crockett said the disagreement involved concerns he raised about racial issues and how they are handled within politics.

“When people have said things to you that brings up racial issues when you’re an African-American, you have to deal with that,” Crockett said.

Crockett said he believed the exchange reflected broader problems involving race and political discussions.

“When somebody has to come to a place like this and say to you that they’re not racist, I think that’s a warning sign,” Crockett said. “That’s a red flag when somebody says they’re not racist. There’s racism in everybody and the bad part of it here in this country is unfortunately directed toward African-American people.”

Crockett acknowledged telling Powers to “shut up” during the disagreement.

“Yes, I told her to shut up because she should have shut up,” Crockett said. “She was out of turn. She was wrong and she didn’t want to admit it.”

Crockett, who described himself as a longtime minister and advocate for low-income communities, said his campaign is focused on defeating Griffith.

“A win is a win,” Crockett said. “That’s all I’m after is to defeat Morgan Griffith.”

Murphy, who was not involved in the exchange, declined to comment, saying he did not witness the full interaction.

“I only have kind of half-pieced information,” Murphy said. “So, I don’t want to comment too specifically because I don’t know exactly what’s going on.”

“I’m running to represent the people of Southwest Virginia, not red team or blue team, but the red, white and blue team,” Murphy said.

The Democratic nominee will face Griffith in the general election for Virginia’s 9th Congressional District seat later this year.

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