Political analysts commented on the potential effect of this confrontation on Etheridge's chances of re-election against Republican candidate Renee Ellmers. Subsequently, on June 18, a 32-year-old man, Brandon Leslie, said he had been a victim of a similar incident occurring in 1996 in which Etheridge grabbed him when he was a high school student. That report was later disputed by the retired principal who stated that "the student was in the wrong"; however, the principal "did not detail the nature of the exchange between Leslie and Etheridge."