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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11899427" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pennsylvania" source="Orion">Pennsylvania</keyword> state Sen. <keyword id="11899426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="doug-mastriano" source="Orion">Doug Mastriano</keyword> has endorsed <keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword> Republican <keyword id="13268443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wendy-rogers" source="Orion">Wendy Rogers</keyword> in her reelection bid.</li><li>Rogers is a far-right conspiracy theorist who recently spoke at a white nationalist conference.</li></ul>Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania Republican facing criticism for refusing to cut ties with a social media platform popular with Christian nationalists, has endorsed the reelection bid of an Arizona Republican who has welcomed the support of white nationalists and is herself a member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia.In a video <a href="https://t.me/wendyrogersaz/5392?utm_source=pocket_mylist">posted on her Telegram</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-townsend-wendy-rogers-nick-fuentes-trump-white-nationalism-arizona-2022-7">Wendy Rogers</a>, a state senator who was <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/03/01/senate-votes-to-censure-wendy-rogers-for-threatening-her-colleagues/">censured by her party</a> after appearing at a white nationalist conference earlier this year, touted the endorsement from Mastriano, who is himself running for governor."Thank you, Colonel, for your endorsement!" Rogers wrote. "We are rooting for you in Pennsylvania, too!"Mastriano, in the video posted Monday evening, described the state senator as a "good friend.""We need more champions for freedom like her in office," he said. "She's tough and courageous. She's a brave leader."Rogers, who was also endorsed by former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>, is fighting to keep the seat she first won in 2020. On August 2, GOP primary voters will pick between her and state Sen. Kelly Townsend, an ultra-conservative lawmaker who says she launched her primary challenge due to Rogers' open embrace of white nationalists.In February, Rogers spoke at a conference organized by far-right streamer <keyword id="12997627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nick-fuentes" source="Orion">Nick Fuentes</keyword>, who the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a "<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/nick-fuentes">white nationalist live streamer</a>" and "outspoken admirer of fascists." The Anti-Defamation League likewise describes him as a "<a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/nicholas-j-fuentes-five-things-know">white supremacist leader</a>." Fuentes, among other things, has claimed the Republican Party "is run by Jews, atheists, and homosexuals."Speaking to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-townsend-wendy-rogers-nick-fuentes-trump-white-nationalism-arizona-2022-7">Insider's Bryan Metzger</a>, Townsend said she watched a compilation of Fuentes' views after Rogers' participation in the conference was publicized and was "horrified" by what she saw. Previously, Metzger wrote describing Fuentes as "a 23-year-old far-right political commentator who the FBI has identified as a white supremacist and with an online following known as 'Groypers.'"Rogers, far from distancing herself, has embraced so-called "groypers" — deeming her white nationalist audience "<a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/26/wendy-rogers-racist-white-nationalists-patriots-and-called-for-hanging-political-enemies/">patriots</a>" while describing Fuentes as "the most persecuted man in America" — and doubled down on controversy.After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for example, she attacked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, as a "globalist puppet for Soros," along with further antisemitic tropes: "I stand with the Christians worldwide not the global bankers who are shoving godlessness and degeneracy in our face.""I will not apologize for being white," <a href="https://twitter.com/WendyRogersAZ/status/1498470393723641856">she added</a> the next day.Rogers later <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/wendy-rogers-buffalo-shooting-false-flag-investigation-1354429/">suggested that</a> a white man's mass killing of Black shoppers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, was a "false flag" attack staged by the federal government.In <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/01/1083817494/arizona-state-senate-censures-lawmaker-who-threatened-rivals-with-violence">its censure</a>, the Arizona state Senate, which is led by Republicans, said Rogers had engaged in conduct "unbecoming of a senator, including publicly issuing and promoting social media and video messages encouraging violence."Rogers' membership in the Oath Keepers has also come under increased scrutiny since the paramilitary group's leadership was charged with a seditious conspiracy over their role in the January 6 insurrection.<h2>Mastriano critic</h2>Mastriano, who won a plurality in the GOP primary to become his party's Trump-backed candidate for governor, has himself been criticized for cozying up to far-right extremists and antisemites. His opponent, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, is Jewish.In a statement, the Shapiro campaign attacked Mastriano for "plunging his campaign deeper into toxic extremism and conspiracy theories.""It's appalling to see Mastriano team up with an out-of-state politician who spends her time with white nationalists and peddles horrific antisemitism, but it's unsurprising – they're two peas in a pod," Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the Shapiro campaign, told Insider.Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doug-mastriano-gab-andrew-torba_n_62d08787e4b02d3ecf3184b9">HuffPost reported</a>, Mastriano paid $5,000 in a "consulting" fee to Gab, a social network popular with extremists that was used by the man who murdered 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Mastriano also sat down for an interview with the site's founder, Andrew Torba, a self-described Christian nationalist who has frequently posted antisemitic tirades."Jewish voters expect candidates to condemn antisemitism, whether it comes from the far left or the far right — and to shun those who espouse it," Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said in a statement <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/doug-mastriano-gab-republican-jewish-coalition-andrew-torba-20220721.html">reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer</a>. "We strongly urge Doug Mastriano to end his association with Gab, a social network rightly seen by Jewish Americans as a cesspool of bigotry and antisemitism."Mastriano did not respond to a request for comment.Have a news tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com" rel="nofollow sponsored">cdavis@insider.com</a>

Trump-endorsed Doug Mastriano, urged to denounce Gab and extremists, endorses far-right Arizona lawmaker instead

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Arizona <keyword id="11917127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gop" source="Orion">GOP</keyword> lawmaker claimed a "fed" was behind the <keyword id="13948870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="buffalo-mass-shooting" source="Orion">Buffalo mass shooting</keyword>. </li><li>Extremists pushed baseless "false flag" claims after the attack, in which 10 were killed. </li></ul>Arizona GOP lawmaker <keyword id="13268443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wendy-rogers" source="Orion">Wendy Rogers</keyword> cited a right-wing conspiracy theory claiming that a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, was perpetrated by a federal agent. Rogers posted the message in her Telegram account on Saturday, hours after the shooting in a supermarket that left 10 people dead and three injured. "Fed boy summer has started in Buffalo," Rogers tweeted, seeming to imply that the shooter was a federal agent.The claim echoes far-right <keyword id="11921389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="conspiracy-theories" source="Orion">conspiracy theories</keyword> claiming that mass shootings are government "false flag" plots designed to justify taking away citizens' freedoms. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-mass-shooting-latest-linked-to-great-replacement-theory-2022-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">Authorities say the suspect in the Buffalo shooting livestreamed the attack and in a manifesto posted online</a> cited racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. 11 of the 13 victims were Black. In the wake of the shooting, extremism experts pointed to the overlap between the rhetoric of mass shooters and that of elected Republican officials.As well as the shooting in Buffalo, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/15/stefanik-buffalo-replacement/">a 2018 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand,</a> featured extensive references to white supremacist theories.Rogers, who represents Arizona's 6th legislative district in the state's senate, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/26/wendy-rogers-racist-white-nationalists-patriots-and-called-for-hanging-political-enemies/">has openly praised white nationalism</a>. She is a member of the far-right Oath Keepers so-called militia and has attracted criticism and censure for pushing baseless far-right conspiracy theories while in office. Among the claims Rogers made is the so-called "great replacement" conspiracy theory, alleging that liberals are engaged in a plot to replace white people. <a href="https://www.wmicentral.com/_services/v1/client_captcha/challenge?request=X2xiX3JhdGVfZm9yZWlnbjpMMjVsZDNNdmMyVnVMWEp2WjJWeWN5MTBkMlZsZEhNdGQyVXRZWEpsTFdKbGFXNW5MWEpsY0d4aFkyVmtMMkZ5ZEdsamJHVmZOVEV3T1dNellqa3RNalV5WmkwMU0yUXpMVGsxWlRVdE0yUXdOVFZtTm1ObU5XRXpMbWgwYld3OjE2NTI2OTQ2MTI6MHhmMWRiMjEyZTU3ZWMxZWY3OWQyZmRlM2U2Y2Q2ODdmMmUxYTU1YWIy">The claim was pushed by Rogers in social media messages</a> in July 2021, and also cited by the manifesto from the Buffalo shooting. The groundless claim that the Buffalo shooting was perpetrated by a federal agent was also pushed by fringe white nationalist <a href="https://t.me/nickjfuentes/6786">figures including Nick Fuentes.</a> Fuentes is the organizer of the APAC white nationalist conference, which Rogers attended by video-link in February. Insider has contacted Rogers and the Arizona Republican Party for comment.

Arizona GOP lawmaker spreads conspiracy theory that the Buffalo mass shooter was a federal agent

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ducey said late last week that a controversial GOP state senator was still preferable to a Democrat.</li><li><keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword> state Sen. <keyword id="13268443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wendy-rogers" source="Orion">Wendy Rogers</keyword> has attracted national attention as a promoter of Trump's debunked election claims.</li></ul>Republican Gov. <keyword id="11949076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="doug-ducey" source="Orion">Doug Ducey</keyword> of Arizona is being excoriated for <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/02/25/arizona-gov-doug-ducey-criticized-comments-sen-wendy-rogers/6943981001/">saying</a> that a firebrand GOP state senator who has ties to white nationalists and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-state-senator-wendy-rogers-says-imprison-maricopa-county-officials-2021-8">promotes</a> debunked election claims is better than having a Democrat in office.Ducey made the remarks about GOP state Rep. Wendy Rogers on Thursday following a local event in the state announcing state-funded scholarships for children in the foster care system, The Arizona Republic <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/02/25/arizona-gov-doug-ducey-criticized-comments-sen-wendy-rogers/6943981001/">reported</a>. "What I need as a governor are governing majorities so that I can pass dollars into our social safety net, so we can provide programs like this that will help children from all over our state," Ducey <a href="https://twitter.com/nickmartin/status/1497034569597341696">said, </a> focusing on the senator's importance to his legislative agenda when pressed by reporters. "That's what I've wanted to do, is move my agenda forward. I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish. And she is still better than her opponent, Felicia French."In 2020, Rogers <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Felicia_French">defeated</a> French, a Democrat and retired Army colonel, in a state senate district anchored in northern Arizona.Ducey's comments came just before Rogers was preparing to speak at an America First Political Action Conference in Florida on Friday. One of the event's organizers is Nick Fuentes, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/06/who-is-nick-fuentes-and-why-is-a-us-rep-buddying-up-to-the-segregationist-holocaust-denying-gen-z-influencer/">who has a history</a> of making <a href="https://www.adl.org/blog/nicholas-j-fuentes-five-things-to-know">racist and antisemitic remarks.</a>At the February 25 event, Rogers praised Fuentes, called those in attendance "patriots" and said she fantasized about hanging her "enemies," which included calling for more gallows to be constructed,<a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/26/wendy-rogers-racist-white-nationalists-patriots-and-called-for-hanging-political-enemies/"> The Arizona Mirror reported</a>."I've said we need to build more gallows. If we try some of these high-level criminals, convict them and use a newly built set of gallows, it'll make an example of these traitors who have betrayed our country," she said.Ducey received major pushback from the progressive organizations <a href="https://www.advancingaz.org/">Advancing Arizona</a> and <a href="https://www.progressarizona.org/">Progress Now Arizona</a> regarding his views, saying he is "catering to the hate.""Gov. Doug Ducey must stand with the people he swore an oath to represent and stop catering to the hate that he feels is necessary to advancing his own agenda," they said in a joint statement.Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin told The Arizona Republic that the governor rejected any form of hate."Gov. Ducey is not about hate," he said. "That should be pretty clear. And for people who are suggesting otherwise, they're just attempting to score political points."In 2020, the governor's political action committee spent $500,000 for the Rogers campaign as a way to help the party maintain its legislative majorities. The effort paid off, as Republicans currently control both houses of the state legislature — albeit narrowly — even after President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">defeated</a> former President Donald Trump in the critical swing state by less than 11,000 votes that same year. Karamargin, however, referenced Ducey's actions taken after the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which he quickly decried, and the governor's fight against antisemitism after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-how-it-unfolded-2018-10">the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack</a>.Rogers has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/wendy-rogers-embraced-trump-s-stolen-election-lie-watched-her-n1283510">attracted</a> national attention for embracing Trump's debunked election claims, and she strongly supported the controversial Maricopa County election audit, which failed to uncover any sign of mass fraud but it did <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-documents-show-arizona-audit-confirms-bidens-win-over-trump-2021-9">reaffirm</a> Biden's countywide victory over Trump.

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey says a GOP senator with ties to white nationalists 'is still better' than a Democrat in office

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Maricopa Board of Supervisors recently condemned the election audit and rejected new subpoenas.</li><li><keyword id="5325323" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Wendy-Rogers">Wendy Rogers</keyword> called for the election officials to be placed in "solitary confinement cells" in response.</li><li>The board's head had called the highly partisan audit an "adventure in never-never land."</li></ul>An <keyword id="57493" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Arizona">Arizona</keyword> state senator has called for members of the <keyword id="3125340" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Maricopa-County">Maricopa County</keyword> Board of Supervisors to be imprisoned after they <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-condemns-election-audit-2021-8">condemned the county's widely criticized election audit</a>, and objected to related subpoenas."I would like to know if we have enough solitary confinement cells in Arizona available for the entire Maricopa Board of Supervisors and the execs at the fraud machine company," tweeted Wendy Rogers, a vocal supporter of former President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword>, on Monday. "We are going to need a lot."Rogers was referring to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-election-auditors-searching-for-bamboo-in-the-ballots-2021-5">baseless claim</a> that Dominion Voting Systems, whose equipment is used in Maricopa County, helped flip votes from Trump to President Joe Biden."Should stolen elections be considered treason?" Rogers wrote in a subsequent tweet, referencing the baseless theory shared by Trump and his allies that the <keyword id="7600569" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="2020-election">2020 election</keyword> was illegally rigged against him through widespread voter fraud.Her comments came after the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-condemns-election-audit-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">condemned</a> Arizona's partisan audit of the election.Since April, a Florida firm with no experience in election auditing - named Cyber Ninjas - has been recounting ballots in Maricopa County with the backing of Arizona's GOP-controlled state Senate. Several election officials, including Republicans, have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-official-blasts-insane-cyber-ninjas-arizona-audit-as-incompetent-2021-6">criticized and mocked the audit</a>.After Arizona Republicans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/az-senate-leaders-issue-new-subpoenas-in-maricopa-county-audit-2021-7">issued new subpoenas on July 26 as part of the audit</a>, board chairman Jack Sellers said his officials had "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-condemns-election-audit-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">little time to entertain this adventure in never-never land.</a>"The Board of Supervisors' response also contained <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-condemns-election-audit-2021-8">a letter from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office</a> rejecting certain demands contained in the subpoenas. Those included turning over ballots or images of them, routers, and network logs."There was no fraud, there wasn't an injection of ballots from Asia nor was there a satellite that beamed votes into our election equipment," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-condemns-election-audit-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Sellers said</a>."It's time for all elected officials to tell the truth and stop encouraging conspiracy theories."

A pro-Trump Arizona state senator called for the mass imprisonment of Maricopa County officials after they condemned the election audit

Former television anchor Kari Lake, a Republican, and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, will face off for governor of Arizona in November, a top battleground race. <h3> </h3> <h2>The races &amp; the stakes:</h2>Arizona held competitive Republican and Democratic primaries for an open battleground gubernatorial seat vacated by incumbent GOP Gov. Doug Ducey, who is retiring due to term limits.Former President Donald Trump's influence and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election are major factors influencing primaries in both parties and will take center stage in the general election. The crowded and chaotic Republican gubernatorial primary <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-gop-governor-karrin-taylor-robson-kari-lake-trump-pence-2022-7">became a proxy battle between dueling factions of the GOP,</a> Insider's Bryan Metzger reports. Trump and other far-right figures are backed Kari Lake, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doug-ducey-kari-lake-arizona-governor-trump-2020-election-2022-7">a former local news anchor </a>who ran a campaign largely rooted in Trump's lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pence-endorses-karrin-taylor-robson-over-kari-lake-2022-7">while former Vice President Mike Pence and Ducey</a> endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson, an independently wealthy real estate developer.Arizona <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-judge-rules-against-republican-effort-ban-mail-in-voting-2022-6">Secretary of State Katie Hobbs</a>, the state's chief election official, defeated former Obama administration official Marco Lopez for the Democratic nomination for governor. Hobbs running for governor also opens up the crucial office of the secretary of state. The person elected to this office will be responsible for overseeing the 2024 presidential election in a key battleground state.Adrian Fontes, Maricopa County's former top election official, defeated state Rep. Reginald Bolding for the Democratic nomination. He will face <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorses-qanon-supported-for-arizona-secretary-of-state-2022-7">State Rep. Mark Finchem</a>, a key <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/24/2020-election-republican-official-races-490458">ally in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Arizona</a>, won the crowded GOP primary field, defeating state Rep. Shawna Bolick, state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, and Beau Lane. <h2>State legislative primaries: </h2>Trump's influence also loomed large in two high-profile GOP state Senate primaries.In the 7th District, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doug-mastriano-endorses-wendy-rogers-in-arizona-state-senate-race-2022-7">highly controversial far-right Sen. Wendy Rogers</a> defeated conservative state Sen. Kelly Townsend in a race that became a battle over Rogers' ties to the white-nationalist figure Nick Fuentes, far-right trolls, and the two candidates' fealty to Trumpism, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-townsend-wendy-rogers-nick-fuentes-trump-white-nationalism-arizona-2022-7">Insider reported.</a>And in the 10th District, current Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers lost to a Trump-backed opponent. Bowers, who was term-limited in the state House and ran in the GOP primary for an open state Senate seat, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rusty-bowers-donald-trump-david-farnsworth-arizona-primary-january-6-2022-7">told Insider he's "running against Donald Trump."</a> Bowers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bowers-arizona-house-speaker-2020-election-rino-gop-2022-7">testified before the January 6 committee</a> about Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Trump-endorsed Kari Lake wins the GOP nomination for governor in battleground Arizona

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="14510738" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kelly-townsend" source="Orion">Kelly Townsend</keyword> and Wendy Rogers, two far-right Arizona state senators, are facing off in a GOP primary.</li><li>Rogers has been endorsed by <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump" source="Orion">Trump</keyword> and has ties to white nationalists known as "Groypers".</li></ul>APACHE JUNCTION, Arizona — At a town hall-style event held by the Superstition Mountain Republican Club last Thursday evening, a state legislative primary that may be Arizona's most contentious took center stage.Two ultra-conservative state senators, both of whom have aggressively promoted the idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, made their case to an audience of roughly 100 middle-age and elderly voters at a charter elementary school on the eastern edge of the Phoenix metro area."I wanted to say hi to my colleague, Sen. Kelly Townsend," said state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who is a member of the Oath Keepers militia, with a hint of sarcasm as she began her pitch. Addressing the room after remarks by US Senate candidate Blake Masters, Rogers took a minute to thank her supporters, reading off a list of names from her phone that included "Wendy's Goon Squad" and a "troll army." Met with silence, she set down the phone and launched into her stump speech. Townsend, a fellow Republican state senator and Rogers' opponent in the August 2 primary, sat in the front row as Rogers sold herself as a bike-riding, truck-owning workhorse. "I should be a poster girl for Toyota, but they're too woke for me," said Rogers. With less than two weeks to go until the primary election — and with scores of mail-in ballots being returned each day — the race between the two pro-Trump legislators now hinges largely on whether GOP voters will tolerate Rogers' <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/03/02/wendy-rogers-refuses-to-condemn-white-nationalist-leader-after-gop-senator-challenges-her/">embrace</a> of <keyword id="12997627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nick-fuentes" source="Orion">Nick Fuentes</keyword>, a 23-year-old far-right political commentator who the FBI has identified as a white supremacist and with an <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/22/the-groyper-army-is-looking-to-make-white-nationalism-mainstream-it-has-key-allies-in-arizona-politics/">online following known as "Groypers."</a> Townsend, who abandoned a nascent congressional bid in March to challenge her one-time ally in their <a href="https://redistricting-irc-az.hub.arcgis.com/pages/official-maps">newly-combined 7th legislative district</a>, has made Rogers' ties with Fuentes a key issue in the final weeks of the race."I was not familiar with who Nick Fuentes was," Townsend told Insider in a phone interview on Friday. "I went and watched a compilation video that someone showed me, and I was horrified." Townsend says she gave up one of the most coveted commodities in GOP <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> today — a <keyword id="13166625" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump-endorsement" source="Orion">Trump endorsement</keyword> — in order to run.<div type="image" title="A yard sign for Sen. Kelly Townsend's re-election campaign outside an elementary school in Apache Junction, AZ on July 14, 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93012612" hostid="261"></div><h2>'I truly respect Nick'</h2>It all began in late February of this year, when Rogers, a <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Wendy_Rogers">perennial candidate</a> who finally won a state Senate seat in 2020, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/26/wendy-rogers-racist-white-nationalists-patriots-and-called-for-hanging-political-enemies/">delivered a video address before the America First Political Action Conference</a> (AFPAC), a gathering of white nationalists organized by Fuentes. Rogers greeted the audience as "fellow patriots" while arguing for the use of a "newly built set of gallows" to "make an example of these traitors who have betrayed our country.""I truly respect Nick, because he's the most persecuted man in America," she <a href="https://rumble.com/vw10fd-wendy-rogers-full-afpac-speech.html">said of Fuentes during her address</a>. "Nick, and the other patriots in attendance at AFPAC: please keep doing what you're doing. I admire you, and I so appreciate how you never give up. We need more strong Americans like you."Fuentes did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Rogers also <a href="https://twitter.com/nickmartin/status/1498763648080117760?s=20&amp;t=K5D46CBfdTkRXTR3OqDVlQ">posted an image</a> of herself, Fuentes, and Andrew Torba — founder of the right-wing social media site Gab — behind a slain rhinoceros with a Star of David set against the logo of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).Days later, Rogers was <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/03/01/wendy-rogers-republican-censure-arizona-senate/9331363002/">censured by the Arizona Senate</a> for the violent rhetoric, though the motion did not mention anti-Semitism or white nationalism. Townsend, who said she missed the March 1 vote because her daughter had a medical issue, says she called Rogers that day and pleaded with her to denounce Fuentes directly. She says Rogers told her that she "shouldn't have to do that.""I was just begging her, I'm like 'I need you to be strong, Wendy,'" said Townsend. "I mean, don't you believe in the Bible?"But Rogers wouldn't denounce Fuentes, and still hasn't."I was just sick to my stomach. I spent the night in prayer. I cried," said Townsend. At the time, Townsend was just over one month into a campaign for a US House seat currently held by retiring Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. "I had just gotten a Trump endorsement," she says.Townsend <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1499811723125035010?s=20&amp;t=xHj6R10VnIgfarIsbrIQxw">ended her congressional campaign days later</a> and announced that she would instead run for re-election, challenging Rogers in her home senate district, which they now shared as a result of redistricting."I have to make the statement that this is not who we are," she added. "And I'm going to just run off my record and see what happens."She added of Rogers: "I don't care what she does to me."<div type="image" title="A yard sign for Sen. Kelly Townsend's re-election campaign outside an elementary school in Apache Junction, AZ on July 14, 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93012615" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Why wouldn't you speak out against that?'</h2>Townsend <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1499811723125035010?s=20&amp;t=bszT4TcxstqqLdrAj7ashA">released a statement</a> in early March blaming her exit from the congressional primary on the fact that the Trump endorsement had "still not materialized." But she told Insider that a Trump aide told her that the former president would endorse her. "I've got it on my phone," she told Insider.Insider viewed a series of text messages between Townsend and Kurt Olsen, a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-pro-trump-lawyer-was-a-rising-stop-the-steal-star-his-firm-erased-him">lawyer who worked on behalf Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election</a>, in which Olsen seemingly confirmed that a Trump endorsement was coming. "He says, you know, it's done. It should be out soon," said Townsend. "He said to go and fight hard."But before the expected endorsement was published, Townsend announced her primary against Rogers, who was herself endorsed by Trump in November 2021. While Townsend says she didn't want to make Trump have to choose between the two of them, she also said she's "disappointed" in the former president for backing a candidate aligned with white nationalists and no longer wants his support."I don't know that his endorsement is going to help me," said Townsend. "If he's unwilling to speak out against Nick Fuentes, then why would I want an endorsement from somebody who can't do that?""I'm like… don't you have a daughter-in-law, or a son in law or something, who's Jewish? Why wouldn't you speak out against that?," she added, referring to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. "I'm just disappointed that President Trump didn't put a kibosh to that kind of rhetoric."Townsend's odds are not great; according to the most recent campaign finance disclosures, Rogers <a href="https://seethemoney.az.gov/PublicReports/2022/09A5A922-42BF-4FA3-BFB6-06E462A2508F.pdf">has brought in</a> more than $3 million in contributions this year, while <a href="https://seethemoney.az.gov/PublicReports/2022/03F7769D-92C7-48A2-94A5-9A9A942F3015.pdf">Townsend has raised</a> a little more than $65,000. The Apache Junction Republican insists that she has an advantage among GOP voters who are "paying attention," and she indicated that she's received support from people who usually don't agree with her MAGA-aligned views.<div type="image" title="Sen. Kelly Townsend (left) cheers on Trump as he addresses supporters at a Turning Point Action event on July 24, 2021, in Phoenix, AZ." height="1333" width="1778" msid="93012619" hostid="261"></div>"It's uncomfortable, because all these people are coming out of the woodwork saying 'please save us from Wendy Rogers, please, you have to win this race,'" she said with a chuckle. But she also worries that the average Republican voter in her district just doesn't know enough about Rogers' controversies, most of which stem from statements on Twitter and other right-wing spaces online."They see a Trump endorsement, they don't know any different," she said. "Or, they may ascribe to what she believes."<h2>MAGA versus "Groyper"</h2>While Townsend speaks of Nick Fuentes' anti-Jewish rhetoric with a sense of urgency and righteousness, she's ultimately more similar to her primary opponent than not."There's a lot of similarities when it comes to how we vote. But there are some stark differences on our leadership style, on our professionalism, on who we are as a person," said Townsend. "There's a side of Wendy that some people have never seen."But asked whether she believed Rogers' frequent invocations of George Soros are anti-Semitic, Townsend herself invoked a trope broadly understood to be anti-Semitic, saying critiques of the liberal megadonor have "nothing to do with the fact that he's Jewish" but "everything to do with the fact that he's trying to destroy sovereign states.""I'm not criticizing his faith, I'm criticizing his actions of coming against our country and our republic," Townsend said of Soros. "He wants socialism. He wants a one world government, if I'm correct… I'm pretty sure that's what he wants."Townsend has also <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1541073889559601152?s=20&amp;t=2T9-5Nl9nskTdvH3cqi1iw">posted an anti-Semitic caricature of George Soros on Twitter</a> herself, and faced <a href="https://twitter.com/ADLArizona/status/1437517138218999809?s=20&amp;t=0OiqY9elyo57puqwRUvXag">criticism from the Anti-Defamation League</a> for <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1437200407353184256?s=20&amp;t=KJvRttx5U6mk0D7Ceo00wA">posting a meme</a> comparing COVID-19 vaccinate mandates to the Holocaust.Townsend reached out after initial publication of this article regarding the Soros meme, indicating that she didn't believe it was anti-Semitic."None of my intentions had anything to do with making a statement about Jewish people in general being puppet masters," she told Insider via text.And Townsend has trafficked in false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/05/31/gop-lawmaker-calls-on-vigilantes-to-film-and-follow-voters-to-combat-unproven-ballot-mules/">calling this spring</a> for "vigilantes" to monitor ballot drop boxes — the locus of many election-related conspiracy theories — across the state.She recently bragged about <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/06/30/the-fbi-subpoenaed-karen-fann-and-kelly-townsend-for-information-on-the-january-6-insurrection/">receiving a subpoena from the FBI</a> in connection with an investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot, <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1546870948229353472?s=20&amp;t=tQ2PxpO8991EcuqWI0QE_A">suggesting on Twitter</a> that Rogers "wasn't subpoenaed" because she "wasn't involved but she claims she was [an] election audit champion."And in an endorsement research packet signed by Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/AZKellyT/status/1501261829049253888?s=20&amp;t=61PGwaQtcZam7YlnmCCCAg">that Townsend shared on Twitter</a>, her support for the "Stop the Steal" movement is listed under "Positives."Meanwhile Rogers, an Air Force veteran with a large online following, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/22/the-groyper-army-is-looking-to-make-white-nationalism-mainstream-it-has-key-allies-in-arizona-politics/">associates herself</a> with a group of white nationalist online trolls known as "Groypers." Following a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, she <a href="https://t.me/wendyrogersaz/4751">said</a> that "Fed boy summer has started in Buffalo," suggesting that shooting was a false flag operation instigated by the federal government. That led to a <a href="https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/wendy-rogers-investigation-senate-ethics-report-no-conclusions/75-5fb1fe17-cf29-4a31-ac0d-d183cafaf5c2">short-lived ethics investigation</a> by the Arizona Senate. She also <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/03/02/ethics-complaint-against-arizona-sen-wendy-rogers-dismissed/6885096002/">faced an ethics complaint in 2021</a> regarding her treatment of staff that was later dismissed along party lines.Rogers did not respond to Insider's request for either comment or an interview.<div type="image" title="Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers speaks at a Trump rally in Florence, Arizona on January 15, 2022." height="1333" width="1777" msid="93012621" hostid="261"></div><h2>Sparks fly at the Republican club</h2>Fifteen minutes into Rogers' speaking slot at the Superstition Mountain Republican Club, the topic of Fuentes came up. An attendee asked Rogers about a flyer from the Townsend campaign calling attention to Rogers' ties to the 23-year-old, highlighting the fact that he has denied the Holocaust, <a href="https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1189594371030695937?s=20&amp;t=nf0jytrHKo4UUs516E8F5w">compared its victims</a> to cookies in an oven, and <a href="https://twitter.com/achungus1235/status/1377104438607769604?s=20&amp;t=Q-t910bWtfku4FLTCgjzkw">questioned laws regarding the age of consent for sexual relationships </a>."If, by some chance, you did manage to defend him," said the man, an Apache Junction native who works in construction, "how exactly would you justify it?"Rogers evaded the question."I don't have to justify anybody else's speech," she shot back at the attendee. Rogers condemned what she described as "guilt by association," which she said was "not part of the First Amendment.""No matter what Nick Fuentes says, or you say, if you go out and commit a crime tonight, and someone has a video of me talking to you, all of the sudden I'm bad, because you and I talked?" she added. "It's not up to you or me to quell someone's freedom of speech because you find it abhorrent, whether you do or not.""Well I do find it abhorrent, yes," the attendee quipped before asking her once again whether she disavowed Fuentes' statement. "That's not the point," she responded. "It does not matter what someone else says. They have the freedom to say it. That is what I stand on. You have the freedom to say it."<div type="image" title="Rogers addresses attendees of the Superstition Mountain Republican Club at an elementary school in Apache Junction, AZ on July 14, 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93012623" hostid="261"></div>"So much for that," said the man as he sat back down. A woman sitting nearby told the man that Rogers "didn't answer your question," while another man at the event pointed knowingly towards an <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/26/wendy-rogers-racist-white-nationalists-patriots-and-called-for-hanging-political-enemies/">AZ Mirror article</a> on his phone about Rogers' speech at AFPAC.Later that evening, Townsend had the opportunity to make her own pitch to voters."How many of you saw 2000 Mules?" she asked the attendees in the midst of her speech, referring to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/11/2000-mules-offers-least-convincing-election-fraud-theory-yet/">widely-debunked Dinesh D'Souza film that purports to reveal rampant fraud in the 2020 election</a>. "The drop boxes are a disaster."But at the close of her pitch to voters, Townsend sought to clarify the choice between her and Rogers, saying while she "absolutely" supports individuals like Fuentes' right to say objectionable things, she will "never, ever be silent" about the hateful rhetoric."I'm going to say no to hate," she continued. "No, it does not belong in our party, it does not belong in our state, it doesn't belong in our hearts."

How a fight over Trump's endorsement, white nationalist online trolls, and a Holocaust denier has upended an Arizona GOP state Senate primary

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Liz Harrington said Trump's 2020 election fraud claims will persist until the result changes.</li><li>Speaking to <keyword id="12054994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="steve-bannon" source="Orion">Steve Bannon</keyword>, Trump's spokesperson repeated false claims that the election was fraudulent.</li></ul>Former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> and his allies will keep trying to overturn the 2020 election "until we get the correct result," his spokeswoman has said.Liz Harrington made the comment <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-1-625-truckers-close-ambassador-bridge-tina/id1485351658?i=1000550495199">during an episode of Steve Bannon's "War Room"</a> podcast released Tuesday, after Trump's former chief strategist asked about ongoing efforts to decertify the election."This is not going away and it is never going to go away until we get the correct result and fix our elections, it's just that simple," Harrington said."We still are getting more information about how fraudulent these elections were."Trump and his allies have long falsely maintained that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and that fraudulent ballots unfairly swung the vote in President Joe Biden's favor.There is no evidence to suggest the election was stolen. Regardless, the Trump camp has launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-lawsuits-election-results-2020-11">a number of legal challenges</a> to the election result, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-courts-election-idUSKBN2AF1G1">which have so-far largely failed.</a>Now, Trump and his supporters are now focussed on decertifying the election result, something which is currently impossible in practice. There is no legal process in the US to decertify an election once a president has been sworn into office."The only means of removing a president is through the impeachment process or 25th amendment process set forth in the Constitution, and none of those measures lead to a decertification or to a re-vote," Richard Hasen, the co-director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center, <a href="https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9Q73XZ-1">told Agence France-Presse</a> last year.Refreshed efforts to decertify the election result are underway in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-ally-moves-to-decertify-2020-election-in-three-arizona-counties">Arizona</a> and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-wisconsin-eastman-election-decertification-1295191/">Wisconsin</a> and, speaking to Bannon, Harrington praised the "patriots" still fighting for Trump.In September, Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-asks-georgia-to-decertify-the-2020-election-2021-9">wrote a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger</a> asking him to consider "decertifying" the 2020 election result. Raffensperger has previously said Biden won the state's election.In a separate podcast episode released last month, Bannon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-claims-trump-rally-overturn-2020-election-florence-arizona-2022-1">said that Trump's rally in Arizona on January 15</a> was the springboard for a national decertification attempt. "It's the kickoff of 2022. A huge speech in front of a massive crowd by Donald J. Trump and, of course, they're all melting down about who's on stage with him. They're all people that are going to get to the decertification of the 2020 Biden electors," he said.During the rally, Arizona state senator Wendy Rogers <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/1482546283051044866">led the crowd in a chant of "decertify."</a>

Trump will keep trying to to overturn the 2020 election 'until we get the correct result,' spokeswoman says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Utah Sen. <keyword id="11965209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mitt-romney" source="Orion">Mitt Romney</keyword> on Sunday criticized members of his own party.</li><li>He implied <keyword id="11917127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gop" source="Orion">GOP</keyword> Reps. <keyword id="11917797" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="marjorie-taylor-greene" source="Orion">Marjorie Taylor Greene</keyword> and <keyword id="12381439" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="paul-gosar" source="Orion">Paul Gosar</keyword> were "morons" for attending an event associated with white nationalists.</li></ul>Utah Sen. Mitt Romney on Sunday implied that members of his own party were "morons" after they attended a Florida event associated with white nationalists. "Look, there's no place in either political party for this white nationalism or racism. It's simply wrong," the Republican lawmaker told CNN's Dana Bash during a Sunday appearance on "State of the Union." GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-makes-surprise-appearance-at-alt-right-conference-2022-2">attended the third-annual America First Political Action Conference</a> in Orlando, which was held Friday and organized by the far-right figure <keyword id="12997627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nick-fuentes" source="Orion">Nick Fuentes</keyword>.Fuentes is known for white nationalist views, including his questioning the existence of the Holocaust, criticizing interracial marriage, and praising Jim Crow-era segregation, Insider previously <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-said-she-didnt-know-nick-fuentes-2022-2">reported</a>. The Anti-Defamation League has also called Fuentes a "well-known white supremacist pundit and organizer."Greene on Saturday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-said-she-didnt-know-nick-fuentes-2022-2">defended her appearance at the conference</a>, claiming she did not know its organizer or about his views, Insider reported."I do not know Nick Fuentes. I've never heard him speak. I've never seen a video. I don't know what his views are, so I'm not aligned with anything that may be controversial," Greene <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-said-she-didnt-know-nick-fuentes-2022-2">told reporters at CPAC, held at the same time in Orlando.</a>But during his CNN appearance, Romney called out Greene and Gosar by name."And Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, I don't know them, but I'm reminded of that old line from the 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' movie, where one character says: 'Morons. I have got morons on my team.'"He continued: "And I have to think anybody that would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points."As <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitt-romney-marjorie-taylor-greene-paul-gosar-white-nationalist_n_621b9726e4b0afc668c1d5f4?d_id=3210626&amp;ncid_tag=tweetlnkushpmg00000016&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=us_politics">HuffPost reported</a>, other Republican lawmakers were associated with the event, including Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers and Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who appeared in a pre-recorded video.Arizona's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey last week defended Rogers days before she attended the event, saying she was "still better" than the Democratic opponent she defeated in 2020, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ducey-arizona-wendy-rogers-white-nationalist-ties-democrat-trump-election-2022-2">Insider's John L. Dorman reported</a>.GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, a pariah among staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump, also chastised her colleagues for attending the evening in a tweet. "As Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar speak at this white supremacist, anti-Semitic, pro-Putin event, silence by Republican Party leaders is deafening and enabling," <a href="https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1497613102765907968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1497613102765907968%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fcheney-rips-gop-silence-over-greene-gosar-joining-white-supremacist-event-1683002">she said</a>. "All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now."

'Morons': Mitt Romney goes after Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar for attending conference with white nationalist ties

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jewish leaders and Democrats attacked Pennsylvania Republican Doug Mastriano over his ties to far-right</li><li>Campaign finance records show the gubernatorial candidate paid $5,000 to Gab, a hotbed of extremism.</li></ul>PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Speaking at a memorial for victims of the Holocaust, Jewish leaders and Democrats attacked Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano over his ties to far-right extremists and effort to cultivate support on Gab, the social network founded by a self-described Christian nationalist."Doug Mastriano's support for dangerous extremism and antisemitism, and his eagerness to campaign with these violent and hateful people to earn votes is shameful," Jill Zipin, founder of Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania, said at a press conference on Wednesday.As Insider reported, Mastriano, a state senator who was the Trump campaign's "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pennsylvania-trump-team-made-mastriano-point-person-for-fake-electors-2022-7">point person</a>" for a scheme to overturn the 2020 election, this week <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doug-mastriano-endorses-wendy-rogers-in-arizona-state-senate-race-2022-7">endorsed an Arizona Republican</a>, Wendy Rogers, who has spoken at a white nationalist conference and openly welcomed support from white supremacists.That endorsement came after it was revealed Mastriano paid Gab $5,000 for consulting services, per campaign finance filings. The founder has repeatedly expressed contempt for Jews, who he says have no place in his right-wing movement.In a series of posts last fall, Andrew Torba asserted that he was "building a parallel Christian society" because he is "fed up and done with the Judeo-Bolshevik one," using a Nazi-era term attributing the rise of communism to Judaism. He then shared a cartoon blaming Jews for killing Jesus. Torba did not immediately respond to a request for comment."This is the kind of organization that Doug Mastriano has associated with," Rabbi George Stern said at the press conference.Indeed, it was after that series of posts — <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/gab-ceo-andrew-torba-broadcasts-his-antisemitism-across-social-media-platforms">condemned by the Anti-Defamation League</a> — that Mastriano, in February, joined the site, where he now has more than 38,000 followers. He then sat down for an interview with Torba and received his endorsement. Campaign finance records show he subsequently paid $5,000 to Gab for campaign consulting; new users of the site, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doug-mastriano-gab-andrew-torba_n_62d08787e4b02d3ecf3184b9">HuffPost reported</a>, now automatically follow Mastriano's account.Associating with Gab is a particularly sensitive issue in Pennsylvania. In 2018, a user of the website — who posted that he couldn't "<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/additional-charges-filed-tree-life-synagogue-shooting-0">sit by and watch</a>" as Jewish groups assisted with the resettlement of refugees — gunned down 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. While the site insists it has a zero-tolerance policy on calls for violence — Torba on Wednesday attributed such rhetoric, without evidence, to federal law enforcement operatives. Visitors are greeted with recommended posts that are exclusively from far-right extremists.Antisemitism appears endemic on Gab, per an Insider review of the website. The most popular comment on a recent post from Mastriano, for example, states that "<a href="https://twitter.com/charliearchy/status/1550543392953606146">Jews are cancer</a>." Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Mastriano's Democratic opponent, is himself Jewish.Democratic state Rep. Dan Frankel, whose district includes the Tree of Life synagogue, said his constituents cannot go a day without thinking of the violence that beset their community — with the rise in such hate crimes attributable "in no small part" to sites like Gab."Doug Mastriano is now paying the platform that helped hone the killer's murderous ideology because he believes that the hatred on those message boards will translate into an election victory for him," Frankel said.State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta argued that Mastriano was the "most extreme and most unhinged" statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history, asserting that he could not be trusted to condemn bigotry while in the governor's office."When you're reaching out to people who you know harbor and promote antisemitic, racist, homophobic views, Doug Mastriano doesn't get to say, 'Well, that's not necessarily what I believe,'" Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat, said Wednesday. "That is exactly what he believes — it is what his campaign is paying for And that is exactly the type of governor he would be."It's not just Democrats who have criticized the Mastriano-Gab relationship. In a statement earlier this month, <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/doug-mastriano-gab-republican-jewish-coalition-andrew-torba-20220721.html">reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer</a>, Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, urged the candidate to "end his association" with the platform."Jewish voters expect candidates to condemn antisemitism, whether it comes from the far left or the far right — and to shun those who espouse it," Brooks said.Mastriano has not responded to requests for comment.Have a news tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

Gab controversy: Democrats, Jewish leaders criticize Doug Mastriano's relationship with far-right extremists

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13301853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="morgan-luttrell" source="Orion">Morgan Luttrell</keyword> won the Republican nomination to represent <keyword id="11896956" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="texas" source="Orion">Texas</keyword>' 8th Congressional District.</li><li>Luttrell didn't embrace <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> as much as his top competitors.</li></ul>CONROE, Texas — In Texas's 8th Congressional District north of Houston, Morgan Luttrell <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-governor-attorney-general-congress-primaries-live-results-vote-counts-2022-3">secured</a> the Republican nomination to replace Rep. <keyword id="11940543" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kevin-brady" source="Orion">Kevin Brady</keyword> on Tuesday.Republicans who aren't unabashed Donald Trump acolytes but still love their party should take notice. Luttrell didn't receive an endorsement from Trump, who stayed out of the race. His campaign material makes scant mention of the former president. He solicited (and <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/584828-trump-war-with-gop-seeps-into-midterms">then returned</a>, under pressure) a contribution from a political committee run by fellow military veteran and anti-Trump Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. And while Luttrell readily embraces many Trump administration policies and legislative sensibilities, he's not one to venerate Trump as many other Republicans do. The outcome of this congressional race shows that even though Trump continues to dominate the Republican Party as he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-signals-another-presidential-bid-during-cpac-speech-2022-2">plots</a> a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-wins-cpac-straw-poll-but-desantis-is-edging-up-2022-2">potential</a> 2024 presidential comeback, there are still ruby-red congressional districts that, when given a variety of choices in a Republican primary, will bypass a hardcore Trumper for someone else.In Texas' District 8, 11 Republicans competed to replace Brady, a powerful policy wonk who for several years has been the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation and tariffs.Voters there easily could have selected a candidate with demonstrated fealty to Trump, either directly or indirectly.Christian Collins, a former campaign aide for Republican Sen. <keyword id="11971766" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ted-cruz" source="Orion">Ted Cruz</keyword> of Texas, was <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-houston-collins/">endorsed</a> by a cast of politicos with close Trump ties: Cruz, House Freedom Caucus members Reps. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/madison-cawthorn">Madison Cawthorn</a> of North Carolina and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/marjorie-taylor-greene">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> of Georgia, and prominent 2020 presidential <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/judge-rejects-mike-lindells-attempt-to-get-dominion-lawsuit-dismissed-2022-3">election denier</a> and pillow peddler <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mike-lindell">Mike Lindell</a>.Last month, Collins channeled Trump in calling for a "<a href="https://twitter.com/CollinsforTX/status/1495198554427736072?s=20&amp;t=TPhcdOLLk2q7c1jVsZfy_g">nationwide audit</a> of the 2020 election" at the "<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Rep-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-headlines-rally-for-16917799.php">America First Rally</a>," an event in support of Collins' campaign featuring GOP firebrands like Greene, Cawthorne, and Arizona State Sen. Wendy Rogers. He also called for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinsforTX/status/1495195733502402563?s=20&amp;t=JisW-v564QxfLsxyYRgUQg">Anthony Fauci to be jailed</a> for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic, echoing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPe3h6fwZfk&amp;ab_channel=SkyNewsAustralia">Greene's stance.</a>He placed second.Jonathan Hullihan <a href="https://twitter.com/JHullihanTX/status/1471488234798698497?s=20&amp;t=Hs7Rx0peL4l64wqiNCMf1g">said</a> he was "blessed and honored" to have received the endorsement of Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a top Trump supporter who the US House in November <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-votes-censure-paul-gosar-remove-committees-aoc-anime-2021-11">censured</a> for tweeting an edited anime video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York with a sword.He placed third.Luttrell, a Navy SEAL veteran and brother of fellow veteran <a href="https://marcusluttrell.com/">Marcus Luttrell</a>, received endorsements from former Texas governor and US energy secretary <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorPerry/status/1498445764716072962?s=20&amp;t=RviLkkhRJUwA1BAh1YXuwA">Rick Perry</a>, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas.While Perry and Patrick are close to Trump, the Crenshaw endorsement is telling. The Houston-area congressman has notably begun to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/22/dan-crenshaw-conservatives-come-correct-525829">distance himself from Trump</a>.Crenshaw has even gone as far <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/rep-dan-crenshaw-says-marjorie-taylor-greene-is-either-a-democrat-or-just-an-idiot-amid-covid-19-testing-spat/articleshow/88676656.cms">to criticize</a> Greene, one of Trump's most high-profile and loyal backers, for comments she has made on COVID-19 testing. Greene is "either a Democrat — or just an idiot," Crenshaw said.Luttrell often appeals to voters by sounding Trump-like on issues without focusing on Trump, the man. For instance, he has pledged to bolster border security, put "America first," trash"critical race theory," and strengthen cybersecurity. Luttrell has also touted issues close to his district, such as securing the southern border of the United States and thwarting people from crossing into the United States from Mexico unlawfully. On this issue, Luttrell has focused on the current, not the former president. "Maybe if Hunter Biden got a job here in Texas his daddy would do something to fix our immigration crisis," Luttrell <a href="https://twitter.com/MLuttrellTX/status/1494106340016467968?s=20&amp;t=B_WLW48m_G-V74Y9v3BF9A">tweeted</a>.Luttrell, who served in the US Navy as a Navy SEAL, also served in the Trump administration as a senior advisor for the Department of Energy, where he was the director of " translational research and applied analytics," according to his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-luttrell-169623195/">Linkedln profile.</a>Some voters thought Luttrell stood out from his competition because of his career trajectory and experience."Some of the people who endorsed him swung me over to his camp along with his military service," said Raymond Hill, a voter in Conroe.Jeff Reinhardt, a Texas voter, told Insider, that he voted for Luttrell because he figured he "must be more independent-minded and thinks for himself."Other voters told Insider they thought Collins was only using Republican talking points rather than actually believing in Republican values. Ed Schroer, a voter in Conroe, called Collins a "RINO," or a "Republican in name only," who solely desires power."All he wants to do is be a Republican name, that's it," Schroer said. <div type="image" title="April Sound Church" height="1766" width="3532" msid="89976525" hostid="261"></div><h2>Brady's open seat race shows a trend with the district</h2>Since 1997, Brady has served as the representative for Texas' 8th District. Brady has supported Trump in the past but has shied away from getting involved in the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/06/politics/big-lie-gop-2020-election-trump/index.html">political drama</a> within his party.Luttrell winning the Republican nomination indicates that voters in this particular district still want a moderate Republican — relatively speaking — representing them, one longtime Texas GOP strategist said."Morgan Luttrell has been able to garner a lot of support from all wings of the party, and I think that that's what the district wants for that seat," Nathan McDaniel, a Republican political strategist based in Austin, Texas, told Insider. Luttrell did not respond to Insider's multiple requests to comment for this story.McDaniel pointed to other races where Republican incumbents have lost to more moderate Republican challengers such as the Texas congressional race for district one to replace the open seat for Rep. Louie Gohmert. Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran, a more moderate Republican than his predecessor, secured the nomination on Tuesday, handily defeating the competition. Moran is a county judge who has campaigned on defending the southern border and protecting the second amendment. Moran was seen as more moderate compared to his opponents like Aditya Atholi, a former staffer of Gohmert, who has <a href="https://atholiforcongress.com/">sworn</a> to stop "fake news" and go on the offense against Big government.Other GOP strategists argued that the main values and ideals of Republicans have stayed the same for years but the way these candidates are communicating their stances on issues has changed.Republican candidates are embracing the use of hyperbolic language to replicate Trump's campaign-style in order to court more voters, a longtime GOP strategist, who did not want to provide their full name for fear of retribution, told Insider."Candidates up and down the ballot want to continue to rally around those things that have defined the Republican Party for ages. But now, there is a difference in style about how we talk about these things," he said.Luttrell will face Democratic challenger <a href="https://www.kltv.com/2022/01/24/candidate-us-rep-district-4-laura-jones-explains-influence-move-east-texas-houston/">Laura Jones</a> in the November 8 midterm election.In 2020, Brady <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_8th_Congressional_District_election,_2020">beat his Democratic challenger</a> by 47 percentage points.

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