A racist robocall is making the rounds in North Andover during a state rep. race

A race-baiting robocall is making the rounds to voters in North Andover, where Vietnamese-American state Rep. Tram Nguyen won in a major upset against the now current head of the Massachusetts Republican Party two years ago, state Democratic officials say.

The caller supposedly supports Nguyen, who beat out Jim Lyons in 2018 and is now facing newcomer Republican Jeffrey P. DuFour, of Tewksbury, The Boston Globe reports.

“We need less white people in positions of power so please vote for candidate Tram Nguyen,” the caller says, mispronouncing Nguyen’s last name.

The call also tells voters that white people will become the minority and “less white people mean less racism.”

“It’s very us-against-them. It’s very racist,” Nguyen told the Globe.

Nguyen came to the United States with her family as a political refugee from Vietnam at age 5. She is the first person of color to hold the 18th Essex District seat, which spans parts of Boxford, North Andover, Tewksbury, and Andover. The district is more than 90 percent white.

She told the Globe she represents all of her constituents.

“I’ve been working hard to bring the community together,” Nguyen said.

The calls have prompted the state Democratic party to file complaints with the U.S. Attorney’s office, the FBI, and the Federal Communications Commission.

“The scurrilous, racist robocall messages did not originate with the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and they were obviously calculated to confuse and deceive voters,” a party lawyer wrote.

Gus Bickford, Massachusetts Democratic Party chair, said, “Whoever is behind this is attempting to divide this district on racial lines.”

Party officials told the newspaper they received three complaints and two recordings of the call, but it is unclear how many voters received the call.

“I was outraged, but it’s hysterical how bad a call it was,” said Tim McEachern, a North Andover voter. “He mispronounced the candidate’s name that he supposedly represented. He called it the Massachusetts ‘Democrat’ party. And the lies that they made up are so over the top.”

The call was riddled with inaccuracies about what positions Nguyen supports, including the claim the representative stands by “making white Americans pay tax reparations.”

Nguyen said she does not support doing so and has not even campaigned on reparations — an issue for federal lawmakers.

The representative told the Globe she has been advocating “equality and freedom for all” because she believes systemic racism exists.

“These are basic tenets of American democracy,” she said.

Other parts of the call claimed Nguyen, who supports affordable college for all students, promotes free college for students of color and that the lawmaker — who has backed police reforms — would defund the police.

Nguyen called on DuFour and the Massachusetts Republican Party to denounce the call, according to the Globe.

Dufour disavowed knowing about the call.

“Not only did this not come from my campaign or anyone associated, but it appears to be a dirty trick to hurt my campaign,” DuFour said in a text message, after hearing the call.

“I would fully support an investigation,” he added.

Lyons told the newspaper he had no association with the calls.

“If I’m going to hit you,” Lyons said, “I’ll let you know it’s me.”

In 2018, Nguyen carried a 54 percent majority over Lyons, who was serving his fourth term.

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