John Shulli says Katz threw Arminio “under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride”
John ShulliCandidate who lost the September 15 Republican U.S. Senate primary to Katz, in a video on his Facebook page
In a Facebook video posted September 18, John Shulli, who lost the Republican U.S. Senate primary to Katz, called Katz “the Benedict Arnold of the Republican Party” and said he found it “very disappointing” that Katz “would throw Dr. Joe Arminio, a fellow Republican candidate for office, under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride”. He said “The hypocrisy is staggering”, called Katz “a Democrat, and a coward, and a traitor to the Republican Party of Delaware”, and said Katz “should either withdraw from the race or change his affiliation to Democrat”.
Responding to
Arminio should withdraw from the race, because he repeated the conduct after acknowledging his mistake and receiving an explicit warning.
“Mike Katz has shown his true colors. He is a Democrat. He is the Benedict Arnold of the Republican Party. … I find it very disappointing that Katz would throw Dr. Joe Arminio, a fellow Republican candidate for office, under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride. … The hypocrisy is staggering, as you would expect from a Democrat. Yes, Katz is a Democrat, and a coward, and a traitor to the Republican Party of Delaware. He should either withdraw from the race or change his affiliation to Democrat.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
On September 17, 2026, at a candidates forum at the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington, Joseph Arminio, the Republican nominee for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat, referred to his opponent, Rep. Sarah McBride, with male terms, including “his” in his opening statement, which the audience met with boos, and “gentlemen” later. McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress. After the first instance the moderator, Ken Grant, told Arminio: “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave.” Arminio said in a later answer that he had “committed an error.” After the second instance his microphone was cut and he was removed. McBride said on stage that she did not want Arminio to be unable to speak. Mike Katz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, who was on the same stage, has said he called for Arminio’s removal, and afterward called on him to withdraw from the race. Grant later said the rule was applied “as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.” Whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum, and whether it warrants his withdrawal from the race, is the matter in dispute. In his first public statement since the forum, issued September 22, Arminio said he appreciated McBride defending his freedom of speech and that he is “a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety.”
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Original post
About this source
Shulli, who lost the September 15 Republican Senate primary to Katz, posted the video to his Facebook page with the caption “Katz is the Benedict Arnold of the Republican Party. He should withdraw from the race or change his affiliation to Democrat.” The video includes clips from the forum, with Shulli’s comments before and after them.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The video opens with Shulli’s comments and then plays clips from the forum, including Katz’s opening remarks apologizing to the audience and the moment the moderator asked for Arminio’s microphone to be cut. It was posted the day after the forum and Katz’s statement calling on Arminio to withdraw.
After the quotation
On September 21 Shulli filed as a write-in candidate for U.S. Senate. He told WHYY that Katz is trying to censor Arminio, who he said has a First Amendment right to speak his mind.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum and withdrawal from the race, Shulli treats the misgendering as insufficient ground for Katz’s call for Arminio to withdraw, faulting Katz for putting Arminio “under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride”. His condemnation is aimed at Katz, not at Arminio’s conduct, so condemns loses. He goes beyond disputing a description, so “Challenged the characterization” loses.
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More from this case
Read the full caseArminio invokes free speech in later response to the candidates-forum incident
“I myself am a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety. That, of course, extends to one’s right to assert the “gender identity” of one’s choosing, as well as to assert the facts as one sees them.”Read statement
Delaware Republican Party says no forum should “substitute enforced language for open political argument”
Delaware Republican Party
“Delawareans deserve a real debate, not a debate that ends the moment a Republican nominee refuses to recite the other side’s talking points. We stand with the First Amendment. Candidates should be able to speak, voters should be able to hear them, and no forum should substitute enforced language for open political argument.”Read statement
Nancy Mace calls Arminio’s removal “The Left policing biology and speech”
“The Left policing biology and speech...”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "John Shulli says Katz threw Arminio “under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride”". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2172-in-a-facebook-video-posted-september-18-john