QAnon rising Candidates engaging with the conspiracy theory movement are running for seats in state legislatures this year
PHOENIX – Candidates engaging with the QAnon conspiracy theory are running for seats in state legislatures this year, breathing more oxygen into a once-obscure conspiracy movement that has grown in prominence since adherents won Republican congressional primaries this year.
Some of the legislative candidates have repeatedly shared QAnon memes and interacted extensively with social media accounts promoting the conspiracy – which is centered on the baseless belief that President Donald Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and a child sex trafficking ring. Others have acted in ways that leave it unclear whether they believe in the theory or may be merely flirting with the ideas to garner attention.
They make up a tiny share of the thousands of state legislative candidates on the ballot in November and many are long shots, but several, including in Arizona, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are running in competitive districts.
Among those who have engaged with QAnon postings on social media is Dave Armstrong, a Republican candidate for the Wisconsin Assembly. He was asked to run for the seat by the incumbent, a fellow Republican.
While he does not describe himself as a QAnon adherent, he has liked and forwarded videos made by QAnon backers. Armstrong told The Associated Press that he finds core aspects of the conspiracy credible, but not all of it.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever know the answer to that, nor can we prove it,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing with QAnon is you
can’t prove any of it.”
John Ellenson, Armstrong’s Democratic opponent for the seat, said it would be “dangerous” to elect Armstrong because he “plays in conspiracies and not the truth.”
The conspiracy theory has been creeping into the mainstream political arena. It gained wider attention after Marjorie Taylor Greene won the Republican primary for a U.S. House seat in a heavily GOP Georgia district last month. Greene was invited to the White House for Trump’s acceptance speech during the Republican National Convention.
Trump has said he knows little about the movement but has spoken favorably of its followers. Vice President Mike Pence has dismissed it.
While races for congressional seats often generate more publicity, state legislative positions serve as springboards to higher office, and their holders wield significant power to affect everyday life – determining state policies on education, policing, health care, criminal justice and other issues.
As with many conspiracy theories, it’s not always clear how much of it the candidates believe. Through the AP’s statehouse reporters, the nonprofit research group Media Matters for America and Democratic groups involved in state legislative races, the news cooperative identified about two dozen candidates in more than a dozen states who have expressed some level of support or interest in QAnon.
Some who had shared messages referencing the conspiracy sought to put distance between themselves and the movement when contacted by the AP. Many simply did not return requests for comment – perhaps not surprising given that the movement proclaims the mainstream media is in on the conspiracy.