WASHINGTON — Today, the DLCC is launching its Threats to Democracy website, a database that features a list of Republican candidates and lawmakers who have spread dangerous election conspiracies, attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, or have otherwise threatened our democracy. The DLCC identified at least 17 Republican candidates for Colorado’s state legislature on the ballot in the November midterms who fit that criteria. Nationally, the committee has found at least 1,007 Republican state legislators and candidates are complicit in the ongoing attacks on our democracy. Colorado is a crucial state for the path to the presidency. Coloradans can’t trust MAGA Republicans to protect their sacred right to vote.
“Make no mistake, state legislatures are on the front lines of the battle to protect fair and free elections,” said DLCC executive director Heather Williams. “Colorado election deniers and MAGA candidates want to control their state legislature so they can override voters and decide the outcome of future elections. The surest way to protect democracy and beat back the MAGA movement in 2022 is to elect Democrats in Colorado and to statehouses all across the country.”
Here are just a few examples from Colorado:
- Katie Lehr (HD-49) attended the January 6th insurrection and claimed she was one of the first to “head down to the Capitol,” has spread conspiracy theories online, and claimed the Mar-a-Lago raid was “Stalinesque persecution of political foes.”
- Shelli Shaw (HD-59) was inspired by the Big Lie to run for office and has claimed on social media that the country is “headed for a civil war” and compared Trump losing the election to slavery.
- Melody Peotter (SD-25) is a former employee of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell who has helped spread election conspiracy theories. Peotter’s husband, Brain Peotter, is running as a Libertarian for US Senate and has also spread false conspiracy theories online.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee was the first and only entity committed to identifying, tracking, and condemning the hundreds of Republican state lawmakers who aided and abetted Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Its current Threats to Democracy website holds the most comprehensive account of state legislators and state legislative candidates complicit in the ongoing attack on our democracy. With more than 7,300 state legislative seats, the research for this project is ongoing, and the list continues to grow. The DLCC research team is actively soliciting tips for additional information at [email protected].
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