SHERBURNE – New York State Senate hopeful Jermaine Bagnall-Graham is condemning Donald Trump’s contentious comments about a Gold Star family and is urging current senator James Seward to follow suit.

Bagnall-Graham, a Democrat and Army veteran himself, said the recent war of words between the Republican presidential nominee and the Muslim family of a fallen war veteran simply isn’t reflective of American values.

“As a Veteran myself, I understand that Gold Star families deserve the nation’s utmost respect,” Bagnall-Graham said in a statement Wednesday. “Gold Star families pay an incredible sacrifice that most will never truly understand.”