Supporter of QAnon conspiracy theory wins Georgia primary
Congressional Republicans came a step closer Tuesday 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 theory and made a slew of racist remarks on video, won a Republican primary run-off in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press. Her victory, in a northwestern swath of the state that has favoured Republicans by wide margins, sets her up to become QAnon’s first devotee in Congress.
Trump tweeted congratulations to Greene on Wednesday morning, saying she is “strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!”
Greene, who owns a construction company jointly with her husband, defeated John Cowan, a neurosurgeon. She will face Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal, an IT specialist, in November.
GOP leaders, whose standard-bearer rose to political prominence on the basis of a conspiracy theory about Barack Obama’s birthplace, have watched her ascent with some unease. Rep. Steve Scalise, 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 who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the conversations.
“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, said one House Republican aide closely monitoring the race. A spokesman for McCarthy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Tom Emmer, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, rebuked Greene for racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic remarks that came to light in June.
The elevation of Greene to federal office would mark a watershed for adherents of QAnon, which the FBI has labelled a potential domestic terrorism threat. The proTrump philosophy took shape on internet message boards in the fall of 2017, with posts from a self-proclaimed government insider identified as “Q.” The world view has been core to numerous violent acts, according to law enforcement, including two killings, a kidnapping, vandalism and a heavily armed standoff near the Hoover Dam.