The Qanoner vs. Norma Torres

Once again, Rep. Norma Torres, D-pomona, is up against Republican challenger Mike Cargile in the 35th congressional district. The district spans parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

In 2020, Torres trounced Cargile with nearly 70% of the vote. In 2022, the results narrowed a bit, with Torres receiving over 57% of the vote. Things are unlikely to be much different this time, though in the latest primary Torres had to fend off a challenge from her left.

As of this writing, Torres received a little over 48% of the vote, compared to 39.5% of the vote going to Cargile and the rest going to the remaining candidates.

What is most unfortunate about this particular race is the fact that Mike Cargile is no ordinary Republican.

“The United States is being run by a satanic cabal of human traffickers and pedophile predators, working in conjunction other world leaders, to establish a one world order. I will do everything within my power to oppose this,” he told Grid News (since purchased by The Messenger) in 2022.

Yes, Mike Cargile is a full-on Qanoner.

As reported by Los Angeles Magazine in 2020, Cargile’s social media has also included more explicit links to the Qanon conspiracy, including featuring hashtags like #WWG1WGA used by believers in the conspiracy theory.

If you haven’t heard of Qanon, that’s probably for the best. What it’s all about is basically along the lines of what Cargile said in 2022, but also frequently calls out not only satanic pedophiles but cannibalistic ones, too, who hold high positions in government and were the ones undermining former President Donald Trump.

That someone with completely wacko ideas is the representative of the Republican Party on the ballot anywhere is bad enough. It reflects the shallow pool of candidates the GOP has to work with and gives credibility to the lunatic fringe out there. And it puts conservative voters who probably don’t share Cargile’s conspiratorial worldview in a position where many give tacit approval to Cargile as a candidate simply because he has an “R” next to his name on the ballot.

There’s no doubt Torres will fend him off again, but can the GOP please find someone else?