Georgia Congressional Candidate With Ties to KKK Wins Republican Primary
On August 11, 2020, Marjorie Taylor Greene won the runoff for the Republican primary in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Greene is a QAnon believer, is listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch database, and has come under fire for posing for photos with — and refusing to disavow — former KKK leader Chester Doles.
Doles and a fellow Klansman nearly beat a Black man to death in 1993. He now runs the white supremacist group American Patriots USA (APUSA). Greene is not the only Republican congressional candidate to meet with APUSA. In March 2020, congressional candidate Matt Gurtler, who was then running to represent a different Georgia district (GA-09), met with Doles and APUSA.
Trump, who shared his support for Greene on June 12, congratulated the Republican candidate on her win on the morning after the runoff election:
Despite Trump’s support for Greene, House GOP leaders criticized her after videos emerged of her making numerous antisemitic, Islamophobic, and racist statements. After Greene won her runoff, however, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that House Republicans “look forward” to Greene “winning in November.”
During the Republican primary, Greene was endorsed by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) — all of whom have their own history of antisemitism.
Days before her runoff election on August 11, 2020, Greene shared multiple Facebook posts with antisemitic conspiracies about Jewish donor George Soros. In one post, on August 4, she wrote: “George Soros funds the destruction of America by supporting BLM / Antifa / Fake News Media, the true enemy of the American people. He's bank-rolling left-wing movements world wide who want to destroy Israel, one of the few friends the American people have. The Fake News Media stands with Soros.”
On August 5, she added: “George Soros is spending over $50 million in 2020 to defeat Donald J. Trump, elect Sleepy Joe, and usher in a wave of left-wing commies the likes of which this country has never seen. He is an ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. My opponent, John Cowan, won't condemn him...Vote Marjorie Greene to be your Congresswoman August 11th! Early vote continues through this week! Save America. Stop Socialism. Stop Soros. Defeat the Democrats!”
