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 40 Republican candidates for Maine’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. The people of Maine 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. “Maine 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 Maine and to statehouses all across the country.”
Here are just a few examples from Maine:
- Jeffery Hanley (SD-14) repeatedly shared claims of a stolen election, followed a Facebook page that spread misinformation about the 2020 election, and voted “No” on a resolution to condemn the January 6th insurrection and related violence.
- Eric Brakey (SD-20) downplayed the insurrection and shared claims of a stolen election, including that Democrats are trying a “mass importation of new voters.”
- Mark Rouillard (HD-149) downplayed the January 6th attack on the Capitol and has repeatedly implied support for violence against political opponents, ominously noting “we hold to [sic] many guns for this crap to fly.”
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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