New York Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long suggested the conversion of a church to a mosque in Western New York was linked to crime in the area.

“Neighborhood where the mosque displaced the church,” Long tweeted last Thursday with a picture of a boarded up home in Syracuse, New York. “Crime, prostitution, money laundering. Nice Dem control of cities.”

[Democrats Visit Mosque to Support Muslim Community]

Neighborhood where the mosque displaced the church. Crime prostitution money laundering. Nice Dem control of cities. pic.twitter.com/9MNKNN5H2C

— Wendy Long 2016 (@WendyLongNY) August 11, 2016

Long, a longshot candidate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer, told Syracuse.com in a Monday interview that people were not happy with their neighborhood.

“I wanted to do some photographs and videos of people who were unhappy about it,” Long said. “I thought it was worth mentioning. As I traveled around that neighborhood, it was a sign of what liberal government does to a big city.”

During her visit to Syracuse, she also tweeted a picture of two women wearing veils and walking down the street and said, “Catholic Charities takes federal tax dollars to resettle the refugees we can’t screen. Leaves the Catholics to ISIS.”

Catholic Charities takes federal tax dollars to resettle the refugees we can’t screen. Leaves the Catholics to ISIS. pic.twitter.com/NM4kREus6B

— Wendy Long 2016 (@WendyLongNY) August 11, 2016

Long, a New York City lawyer, previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and also worked for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network (now known as the Judicial Crisis Network). She ran an unsuccessful campaign against New York’s junior senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, in 2012, losing by 46 points. 

The race is rated Safe Democrat by The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call.

Contact Bowman at bridgetbowman@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @bridgetbhc.