The Republican candidates directly related to the riots of January 6, 2021 in the United States Capitol lost their races in the midterm elections, in a repudiation of extremism and the efforts of ultra sectors within the Republican Party to torpedo democracy.
Democrats made democracy a key issue in the campaign, linking nearly every Republican candidate to Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and his attempts to nullify it. They had mixed success on that front, beating several election deniers (election deniers).
But they were effective in preventing people with strong ties to the Capitol unrest from winning state and federal office seats.
In Pennsylvania, Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano lost to the state’s Democratic attorney general, Josh Shapiro. Mastriano was deeply involved in the plan to nullify the election in Pennsylvania. He also chartered buses for Trump supporters to travel from Pennsylvania to Washington DC for the “stop the robbery” rally that preceded the riots.
In Maryland, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox lost to Democrat Wesley Moore. Cox also organized buses for Trump supporters to travel to DC for Trump’s White House rally and called former Vice President Mike Pence a “traitor” after he refused to nullify the election in Congress.
JR Majewski lost to incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who next year will become the longest-serving woman in either house of Congress.
Majewski is a MAGA devotee. backed by Trump and with ties to QAnon, he was also involved in the assault on Capitol Hill.
Other Republican candidates who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and lost overwhelmingly include Tina Forte, who sought to oust Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (DN.Y.); Jo Rae Perkins, who sought to oust Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.); and Jeff Zink, who sought to oust Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
A Republican candidate linked to Trump’s Jan. 6 rally at the White House, where he urged hundreds of his supporters to march on Capitol Hill, won on Tuesday.
Max Miller, a former White House aide who helped organize the event, defeated Democrat Matthew Diemer in a race for a House seat in Ohio.
Several GOP election deniers also won. These Republicans may not have been directly connected to the insurrection, but they helped spread the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and refused to recognize it as legitimate.
