Challenger to QAnon supporter bows out of race in Georgia
In this March 3, 2020, file photo, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks to a GOP women's group in Rome, Ga.[John Bailey/The Rome News-Tribune via AP]
The Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in Georgia dropped out of the race Friday, clearing a near-certain path to victory for a QAnon-supporting Republican contender who has been criticized for her incendiary comments.
Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal bowed out of the race for “personal and family reasons,” his campaign manager Vinny Olsziewski told The Associated Press.
Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs said Friday that the window has passed for Democrats to replace Van Ausdal on the ballot, likely sealing a win for the already-favored Marjorie Taylor Greene. Van Ausdal faced long odds in Georgia’s deep-red 14th Congressional District.
Greene has become notorious for her remarks about minorities and ethnic groups. In a series of videos unearthed in June, she alleges an “Islamic invasion” of government offices, claims Black and Hispanic men are held back by “gangs and dealing drugs,” and pushes an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is Jewish, collaborated with the Nazis.
Most recently, Greene has said mask requirements aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus in schools emasculate boys, and posted a photo montage on Facebook showing her posing with a rifle next to three progressive Democratic congresswomen.
Greene also is part of a growing list of candidates who have expressed support for QAnon, the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory popular among some supporters of President Donald Trump.