QAnon devotee is a step closer to Congress
Congressional Republicans came a step closer this week to welcoming into their ranks a promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, whose adherents believe President Donald Trump is battling a cabal of “deep state” saboteurs who worship Satan and traffic children for sex.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has endorsed the baseless theory and made a slew of racist remarks on video, won a Republican primary runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District on Tuesday.
Her victory, in a northwestern swath of the state that has favored Republicans by wide margins, sets her up to become QAnon’s first devotee in Congress.
Trump tweeted congratulations to Greene on Wednesday, saying she’s “strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!”
He didn’t endorse her in the runoff.
Greene, who owns a construction company with her husband, defeated neurosurgeon John Cowan in the primary.
She will face Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal, an IT specialist, in November.
GOP leaders have watched her ascent with some unease.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House Republican whip, endorsed her primary opponent.
Republican members of Georgia’s delegation privately urged the party’s House leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, to do more to intervene in the race, according to multiple GOP aides.
“There are a lot of members livid at McCarthy for sitting back and doing nothing to stop this woman from being elected while the entire Georgia delegation, Scalise and some moderates tried” to help her opponent, one House Republican aide said.
A spokesman for McCarthy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The elevation of Greene to federal office would mark a watershed for adherents of QAnon, which the FBI has identified as a potential domestic terrorism threat.
The convoluted pro-Trump philosophy took shape on internet message boards in fall 2017, with posts from a self-proclaimed government insider identified as “Q.”
The worldview has been core to numerous violent acts, according to law enforcement, including two killings, a kidnapping, vandalism of a church and a heavily armed standoff near the Hoover Dam.
Greene, in a victory speech Tuesday night, lambasted the “Republican establishment,” along with Democrats and the news media, according to a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who said he was quickly escorted from her campaign’s celebration.
The nominee singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calling her “anti-American” and adding, “We’re going to kick that b---- out of Congress,” the reporter said.
Greene’s campaign manager, Isaiah Wartman, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Greene has been unequivocal about her views, including on Q.
“Q is a patriot,” Greene said in a video posted on YouTube this summer. “We know that for sure.”