WASHINGTON — Several Republican candidates running for state legislative office next week in Virginia and New Jersey participated in the January 6th insurrection. The DLCC has been tracking Republican lawmakers who are insurrectionists and fighting to hold them accountable. As BuzzFeed News details, the first chance to hold insurrectionist candidates accountable is this Tuesday. Rather than reject their extremist fringe, the Republican State Leadership Committee has thrown their support behind three individuals on this list: Delegate John McGuire, Philip Hamilton, and Maureen Brody, who are all running for the Virginia House of Delegates.
BuzzFeed News: At Least 8 Republicans Who Participated In Jan. 6 Are Running For Office Next Week
At least eight Republicans who came to Washington for Jan. 6 will be on the ballot next week, less than a year after trying to overthrow the last election.
The candidates include state legislators running for reelection, as well as local officials and candidates seeking statehouse seats. The races are concentrated in New Jersey and Virginia, which hold local off-year elections. Election Day is Tuesday.
While six of these candidates went to the Capitol on Jan. 6, all have either denied entering the building or not spoken about their involvement. None has been charged for their activities on Jan. 6.
The other two candidates have said they solely attended the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the insurrection and did not go to the Capitol. But that rally was explicitly premised on attempting to overturn the 2020 election. And whatever law enforcement’s preparation for the day, the potential for violence was clear, with some Trump supporters openly planning for it online. At the rally itself, Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell” and go to the Capitol, and several other speakers encouraged rallygoers not to accept the election results and to fight.
While these eight candidates will be on the ballot on Tuesday, far more will run for office next year, during the regular two-year election cycle taking place across the country. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has been tracking every state legislator who played a role in Jan. 6. At least 21 state lawmakers attended the rally or march in DC that day, many of whom will be up for reelection in 2022. The only one who was charged with actually entering the Capitol, then–West Virginia delegate Derrick Evans, has pleaded not guilty and resigned.
The DLCC is also tracking state legislators who signed letters or legal briefs to overturn the election results and those who spread lies about the election, bringing their total to nearly 600 names. For the purposes of this story, BuzzFeed News is including only candidates seeking elected office next Tuesday who were in Washington for the rally or march on Jan. 6…
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