A runoff in the Georgia primary this week will be another test of voters’ willingness to support a candidate who was involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In the Peach State’s 2nd Congressional District, Chuck Hand – who was convicted of a misdemeanor for an illegal demonstration at the Capitol that day – is running against Wayne Johnson in the Republican primary for the seat held by Democratic Representative Sanford Bishop Jr.
Hand is one of several names in connection with January 6 who are aiming to be elected to the House of Representatives more than three years after rioters stormed Capitol Hill. In West Virginia, Derrick Evans, who was imprisoned for participating in the insurrection, lost his hopeless attempt to win a seat in the House of Representatives last month – as did Ryan Zink, who filmed himself on the cordoned-off grounds of the Capitol in Texas.
The Georgia race will be another test of how willing Republicans are to embrace those involved in Jan. 6, as former President Trump praises the “J6 warriors” on the campaign trail.
“Being convicted of a crime, being involved in the Jan. 6 riots … that would have been a no-go for a candidate 20 years ago,” said Ben Taylor, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
But today, deep political polarization, a tense media landscape and an unprecedented presidential campaign at the top of the ticket mean that baggage that would have ended the campaign just a few election cycles ago is “working to the advantage of candidates who would otherwise have been left stranded,” Taylor said.
“When you enter that ecosystem, you create situations where people who were involved in January 6 may be elected to Congress.”
hand pleaded guilty in 2022 for illegally demonstrating at the Capitol when rioters flooded the grounds during the certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to Justice Department documents. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
Hand, who serves as vice chairman of the Taylor County Republican Party, emerged from last month’s Republican primary in Georgia with 32 percent of the vote.
His rival Johnson received 45 percent, just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff for the top two spots. Third-place candidate Michael Nixon received about 19 percent and left the ring. with a devastating statement Call in Question Hand’s claims that he protested peacefully on January 6.
Johnson, a former Trump administration official, enters next week with a lead over Hand, and the Republican winner will face an uphill battle in November to unseat longtime incumbent Bishop in the historically Democratic-dominated district. Still, Hand’s support in the primary is a clear sign that some in the party will not be deterred by a Jan. 6 conviction.
“For this 2nd District candidate, turning out on January 6th is probably more of an advantage than a disadvantage for some of these voters, I would guess,” Taylor said.
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell, who served as Trump’s surrogate in the White House and during the 2020 campaign, said “a large portion” of the Republican base has lingering concerns about the 2020 election and some candidates could use this “as momentum to launch their political careers.”
A majority of Americans in a Survey by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland Some said earlier this year that the unrest was an “attack on democracy that must never be forgotten,” but 43 percent said the unrest was being “blown out of proportion” and that it was “time to move on.”
This survey It also found that the share of Republicans who blame Trump for the incident has fallen from 27 percent in 2021 to 14 percent this year.
CBS News poll Republicans’ approval of the rioters’ actions has also increased, from 21 percent then to 30 percent this year.
Trump is “the most essential, central aspect of all of this,” said Pete Simi, a professor at Chapman University and researcher on political violence and extremism, of efforts to portray Jan. 6 as a “more conventional political protest” rather than an attack that killed 140 people. Police officers attacked And five dead in the days following the attack.
“[Trump’s] “Running in 2024 embodies these efforts to a large extent. Because if it is not an immediate disqualification for running for president, then it would obviously not be a disqualification for running for other, lower public offices,” Simi said.
The former president, who faces federal charges himself in connection with his actions around January 6, praises his supporters who took part in the riots as part of his election campaign for his return to the White House.
“These J6 warriors – they were warriors – but in reality, more than anything, they were victims of what happened,” Trump said. said at a rally last week in Nevada.
“They were simply protesting a rigged election. That’s what they did,” the former president said, repeating his debunked claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Trump card, Who was convicted last month for falsifying business records in New York, has long dismissed his legal problems as politically motivated, and that could prompt his supporters to downplay the January 6 charges, experts say.
“The convictions are just more proof of what the conspiracy theories are telling us, right?” Simi said of the mindset of some voters. “The conspiracy theories are telling us that there is this deep state that is targeting real Americans… and what could be better proof of this deep state than the conviction of Trump in New York or the conviction of the January 6th supporters?”
One Republican strategist said Trump’s status as a convicted felon could make unsavory charges on other candidates’ records look like “parking tickets.”
While the candidates associated with January 6 may perform better than expected, they have yet to record major successes in 2024.
In West Virginia, Evans, the pleaded guilty to a charge of causing unrest, received confirmation by Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Va.), and drew a 37 percent the Republican primary last month, but failed to unseat Rep. Carol Miller (R) in the 1st Congressional District.
In Texas, zinc was found guilty of three felonies and two misdemeanors in connection with January 6, came with single-digit values in primary school for the seat of Rep. Jodey Arrington (R) in the 19th Congressional District.
“I think there are two sides to this. First, it’s shocking in many ways that they even get the support that they get,” Simi said.
“But the fact that they ultimately don’t have that much success and the support is relatively limited is the good news.”
In New York, Philip Sean Grillo was found guilty for obstruction of public proceedings and other charges as he ran for the seat of former Rep. George Santos (R).
Jason Riddle, the pleaded guilty on the charges of 6 January, ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Representative Annie Kuster (D) in New Hampshire in 2022 and has try again this year.
“There are a lot of people across the country and in Georgia who feel like this was not an insurrection, even though I think it clearly was. … There is a lot of anger,” said Fred Hicks, a Democratic strategist from Georgia.
Next week, Hands will face a runoff election in Georgia on Jan. 6, but it will also be “a test of loyalty to Donald Trump and how much that gets you in Georgia,” Hicks said. “And the jury is still out on that.”
