Cedric Gates, a Democratic candidate running for state House District 44, said he felt shocked and disgusted after finding out Tuesday morning that some of his campaign posters had been defaced and spray-painted with a racial slur.

Initially, the incident made him question whether the Waianae Coast community supported him. But Gates, who is Polynesian and African-American, said hundreds of supportive and comforting messages poured in throughout the day, prompting him to think otherwise.

“It’s imperative that we stay united as a community and as a state and nation to address these kinds of hate crimes that are being committed,” said Gates, 23. “I would just like to make it clear that this one incident does not reflect the views of the Waianae Coast community as a whole.”

Gates, a candidate for the district that spans Maili, Waianae, Makaha and Makua, said he expected to finish filing a police report for the four stolen banners and two defaced posters along Farrington Highway by Tuesday night or this morning. He said one of his posters was defaced last week with a marking pen, but his team was able to remove the markings.

He said he is also working with a property owner to obtain video footage of one of the defaced posters near Da Crawfish and Crab Shack in Maili. He has since taken down the posters and said his campaign probably cannot recoup the $700 to $800 for all of the stolen and defaced materials, adding that he does not “want to make any accusations at this time.”

Alphonso Braggs, president of the Hawaii NAACP, said he has spoken with Gates about the incident and described it as “reflective of ignorant people who refuse to embrace diversity and respect for their fellow man.”