Krystal Ball, a Democrat running for Congress in Virginia, has accused conservative political agents of a sexist smear campaign, leaking racy photographs of her in suggestive poses taken at a holiday costume party.

Krystal Ball’s Image Problem: Racy Photos of Virginia Candidate

Democrat calls suggestive photos leaked online a ‘sexist smear.’

Oct. 8, 2010— – Krystal Ball, a Democrat running for Congress in Virginia, has accused conservative political operatives of a sexist smear campaign, leaking racy photographs of her taken at a holiday costume party.

Virginia Virtucon has since removed the photos from its website.

Running as “a fresh face for Virginia,” Ball had previously received little national attention, running in a district that traditionally swings Republican.

In a YouTube statement, Ball, who co-owns an educational software company with her husband, said she was embarrassed by the images but mostly “angry” and said she was being held to a double standard as a woman.

“Of course, I am embarrassed by these photos. That was the whole point of these political operatives when they put them up,” she said. “But more than just embarrassed, I’m angry. I’m angry that when we are suffering from high unemployment, record budget deficits and a broken education system, that crass political operatives will resort to the politics of personal destruction when they can’t talk about the issues.”

Ball said other women candidates, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, had similarly been smeared and held to a different standard.

“I disagree very much with Sarah Palin and Christine O’Donnell, but they’ve gone through a similar smearing. It’s not fair when it’s done on the left. It’s not fair when it’s done on the right,” she said.