The candidate, Marjorie Taylor Greene, finished first in last week’s primary for an open, safe GOP seat in Georgia but still faces an August runoff for the nomination.
The House’s highest-ranking Republicans are racing to distance themselves from a leading GOP congressional candidate in Georgia after POLITICO uncovered hours of Facebook videos in which she expresses racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.
The candidate, Marjorie Taylor Greene, suggested that Muslims do not belong in government; thinks black people “are held slaves to the Democratic Party”; called George Soros, a Jewish Democratic megadonor, a Nazi; and said she would feel “proud” to see a Confederate monument if she were black because it symbolizes progress made since the Civil War.
Greene finished first in a primary for a deep-red, northwest Georgia seat last week by a nearly two-to-one margin over the second-place candidate. She is entering an August runoff as the heavy favorite to secure the Republican nomination for a district where that is tantamount to winning the general election in November. Her initial victory — which has sparked panic in GOP circles — comes as Republicans are grappling with a national reckoning over racial inequality and police brutality after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last month.
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Now GOP lawmakers, aides and operatives fear Greene — a wealthy businesswoman who already drew national attention because of her belief in a trove of “QAnon” conspiracy theories — could create an even bigger black eye for the party if she wins the nomination. Greene will face neurosurgeon John Cowan in the Aug. 11 primary runoff.
“These comments are appalling, and Leader McCarthy has no tolerance for them,” said Drew Florio, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) went further, throwing his weight behind Greene’s opponent.
“The comments made by Ms. Greene are disgusting and don’t reflect the values of equality and decency that make our country great,” Scalise said in a statement. “I will be supporting Dr. Cowan.”
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SCOOP: House Republican leaders are racing to distance themselves from a leading GOP congressional candidate after we uncovered hours of Facebook videos in which she expresses deeply racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.
the story w/ @allymutnick: https://t.co/Xbe0Aqx3Qv
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) June 17, 2020
I'm working on a section of a book right now where I'm thinking very hard about how Arthur Brooks argues we must overcome the emotion of contempt. But I wonder what we do when people say things that are… contemptible. https://t.co/0nKiSQIDrY
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 18, 2020
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