- Several Republican candidates for Congress have ties to the January 6 Capitol attack.
- At least three such candidates have a shot at winning their races next week, according to polling.
Several would-be Republican lawmakers are riding 2020 election falsehoods all the way to the ballot box this November, where at least seven people who say they were at or near the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, are seeking to join the very institution that was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters nearly two years ago.
All seven Congressional candidates have propagated doubts or conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results, according to CBS News — a strategy that ultimately seems to have won them favor with Republican voters. ABC News Political Director Rick Klein earlier this month suggested that the results of statewide primaries heading into the November midterms indicate that a GOP candidate's connections to January 6 now represent a badge of honor among Republican voters instead of a career-ending scandal.
Three such candidates have a real shot at winning their Congressional races next week, forcing current members of Congress to start considering the impending possibility of being forced to welcome new colleagues into the fold who were present on the grounds as the Capitol was attacked.
Multiple Democratic members told Axios earlier this month that they aren't ready to forgive and expressed lingering concerns about their own safety as well as the implications for democracy if these candidates ultimately win their elections.
"It's terrifying, personally, because these were people who were with violent insurrectionists," Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington told the outlet. "It's also terrifying from the perspective of our country ... to have [members of Congress] who are so actively part of denying the elections."
None of the candidates have been arrested or charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack, but several have continued to defend their presence near the Capitol that day.
Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin
Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL running for an open seat in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, identified himself as one of the demonstrators outside the Capitol on January 6 in a local op-ed soon after the attack.
Van Orden at the time wrote that he had been in Washington, DC, for "meetings and to stand for the integrity of our electoral system as a citizen." He said he left the area as soon as he observed the protest descending into a riot, but The Daily Beast reported in June that Van Orden was photographed behind police barricades after the riot began — an allegation he rejected.
All three top House Republicans, as well as former President Donald Trump, have given Van Orden their endorsement and projections suggest the Republican candidate has the edge against Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff who is also hoping to succeed longtime Democrat Rep. Ron Kind in the seat.
A representative for Van Orden did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Sandy Smith, North Carolina
Sandy Smith, a self-described "military mom" and business owner who is running in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District, tweeted two pictures on January 6, 2021, of the crowd marching toward the Capitol, captioning the photos: "In DC fighting for Trump! Just marched from the Monument to the Capitol!"
The post, which included the hashtag #StopTheSteal, remains on Twitter.
Smith won a crowded primary against seven other Republican candidates in May and secured Trump's endorsement in September. This race marks her second shot at Congress after she lost to Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield in 2020. Following her defeat, she espoused unfounded conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the election results.
The North Carolina district in which she is running tends to lean slightly Republican, but Smith's hardline, extremist views have political forecasters predicting that Democrat Donald Davis may take the edge in the race.
A representative for Smith did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
JR Majewski, Ohio
JR Majewski is challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Ohio's 9th Congressional district, looking to unseat the longest-tenured woman in the House after a redrawn district put Kaptur's seat in danger.
On January 6, 2021, Majewski was at the Capitol with a QAnon live-streamer, and said in a local interview that he had been "responsible for 60-70 people at the Capitol," but left when "everything started to happen."
Majewski maintains that he broke no laws on January 6, 2021, and tweeted that he was "cleared by the FBI."
Majewski won his Republican primary in May and garnered former President Donald Trump's endorsement the following month. But a financial disclosure violation first reported by Insider, as well as a September Associated Press report revealing that Majewski misrepresented aspects of his service in the Air Force, have given Kaptur a slight lead.
Throughout his campaign, Majewski has continued to downplay the insurrection, suggesting in one tweet that Capitol police contributed to the violence.
A representative for Majewski did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Four additional candidates also have Jan. 6 ties
CBS News this week highlighted four other candidates who were in DC on Jan. 6 and have since launched longshot campaigns for a Congressional seat. But polling suggests none are likely to make it to Washington.
Leon Benjamin Sr. is running as the Republican nominee in Virginia's 4th Congressional District, where Democratic incumbent Rep. Donald McEachin beat him by more than 22 points in 2020, despite his protestations that the election was compromised.
Benjamin posted photos and video of himself outside the Capitol on January 6 to his Facebook, including a shot with Mike Lindell.
Tine Forte is running against wunderkind incumbent Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th Congressional District for a second time following an overwhelming 2020 defeat.
Forte live-streamed video from near the Capitol with other Trump supporters on January 6 and told NY1 that she doesn't "regret" having been on the grounds that day.
Jo Rae Perkins is once again seeking a US Senate seat to represent Oregon after failing to secure the spot in 2020. She's challenging Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden who has been in Congress since 1996.
One day after the insurrection, Perkins told KOIN that she approached the outside exterior of the Capitol on January 6, but did not enter the building.
Jeff Zink is up against Democratic incumbent Rep. Ruben Gallego in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District. Zink told local Texas news that he did not enter the Capitol or engage in violence on January 6, according to CBS. His son, Ryan Zink, however, was arrested in February 2021 on Capitol riot charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.
None of the four additional candidates immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment.