The most extreme Republicans you need to know about
Hold them accountable on November 8
I don’t think I need to add to the chorus of “what’s at stake” in this year’s midterm elections — everything from voting rights and reproductive freedom to our very democracy at its core. What I can tell you with less than 48 hours until polls close across the country is that the Republicans below are some of the worst of the worst. They are dangerous, and if they win, we all should be worried about what comes next.
Arizona
In the Copper State, we’ve got Blake Masters running for U.S. Senate — a guy who thinks the Unabomber is a “subversive thinker that’s underrated.” He wants to privatize things like Social Security and water — yes, water — both critical resources for Arizonans. He’s bought and paid for by billionaire Peter Thiel, and he has no idea about the struggles facing Arizonans to pay medical bills or put food on the table.
In the gubernatorial race, the difference couldn’t be clearer. Kari Lake, former newscaster turned Trump lackey, supports rolling back abortion rights to a time before Arizona was even a state. She doesn’t believe Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and she even went so far as to say she’d only accept her results if she wins. She’s a danger to democracy and to the women of Arizona.
Perhaps one of the most dangerous Republicans on the ballot this year, Mark Finchem, is running to be Arizona secretary of state. This role would give him direct oversight of the 2024 election results, and he’s already made his allegiances to Donald Trump known. Given that Republicans in Arizona lept to conspiracy theories to explain their loss in 2020 — and seem prepared to do whatever they can to rig elections in their favor going forward — who knows what’s to come in 2024. But one thing’s certain: this guy should not be in charge.
Georgia
Georgia is one of the most watched states this election year, after going blue for the first time in decades in 2020. Herschel Walker, a notorious peddler of scams, seeks the U.S. Senate seat. There’s no end to his lies in sight, with everything from being valedictorian of his class to his ethnicity. While he pushes abortion bans with no exceptions in public, he has personally encouraged his partners to seek abortions — I mean, what a hypocrite. This man even thinks there are 52 states and that we have “enough trees.” Is this really the man Georgians want to represent them?
Governor Brian Kemp, made famous for overseeing his OWN election count in 2018 (and allegedly potentially rigging it in his favor), is now seeking reelection. He’s already restricted voting rights, and he refuses to expand Medicaid, forcing hospitals across the state to close. Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Brian Kemp signed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country at six weeks — before most women even know they’re pregnant. He’s already shown how dangerous he is to Georgians.
Michigan
Ah, Tudor Dixon, running to be governor of Michigan. She’s made clear she would strip millions from public school funding in a style reminiscent of Betsy DeVos — who happens to be one of her biggest campaign donors. Tudor claims that jobs are leaving Michigan in droves, despite evidence to the contrary; meanwhile, her own companies only imported goods from Europe. She also said a 14-year-old rape victim is “a perfect example” of someone who should be forced to give birth under her extreme abortion ban. She’s unfit for office — period.
In a similar cohort to Mark Finchem, we’ve got Kristina Karamo running for secretary of state in Michigan. An avid election denier who knows a little too much about demonic possession, Karamo would oversee 2024 election results in Michigan — another key state President Biden won in 2020. Who knows what she could do with that kind of power.
You might remember Matt DePerno — the guy running for attorney general in Michigan — for asking what Plan B was seconds before saying he would ban it. He infamously compared it to “fentanyl” coming across the border. This same guy wants to oversee laws in Michigan.
Nevada
Adam Laxalt is running for U.S. Senate in Nevada. He said that he is “sad” Nevada is not a pro-life state, and he celebrated the overturn of Roe v. Wade, calling the original Supreme Court ruling “a joke.” People who attended the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol are PAID Laxalt campaign staffers, and Laxalt prepared to challenge the 2022 election over a year before it even happened. I think it’s clear where he stands — and it’s not with Nevadans.
Running for governor, Joe Lombardo would “absolutely” put restrictions on reproductive health care, like contraception, and he would repeal an executive order that currently protects abortion rights. He would even cut up to $300 million from public schools.
A true threat to democracy, Jim Marchant will rig future election’s in the GOP’s favor as Nevada’s secretary of state. He has already threatened to overhaul the electoral system, and he refuses to say whether he’ll accept his own election results. He spreads conspiracy theories about mail-in ballots, despite using that method of voting himself for YEARS. He can’t be trusted.
Pennsylvania
Mehmet Oz — the ultimate example of people from New Jersey wishing they were from Pennsylvania, even hinting at being inducted into the NJ Hall of Fame one day. Despite his mansion in North Jersey and only buying his Pennsylvania house about a year ago, Mehmet Oz is trying to buy Pennsylvania’s Senate seat. The former TV personality has spent decades scamming people with miracle cures and claiming to take on Big Pharma, but he directly profited from products that he pushed on his TV show. He said he considers abortion “murder” and that “local political leaders” should have a say in those decisions, alongside a woman and her doctor (!!!). He claims he would be “tough on China,” despite making his products in China and promoting his businesses there. Possibly worst of all (for someone born and raised in Philly), he’s a COWBOYS fan.
Doug Mastriano is one of the most dangerous Republican candidates on the ballot this election year. He not only believes the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, but also he attended the January 6th insurrection, crossing police lines. It’s not a secret that he would appoint someone who sympathizes with him as secretary of state in Pennsylvania — another key state to Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 — and that could have disastrous consequences in the 2024 presidential election. He wants to take the repeal of Roe v. Wade even further, enacting an extreme abortion ban in the Commonwealth, and he believes that once a pregnancy occurs, “that’s someone else’s body” and pregnant people do not have the right to choose. He wants to cut billions from funding for public schools, setting Pennsylvania’s next generation back.
Wisconsin
There are too many things to say about Ron Johnson, but let’s start with the fact that he constantly complains about his job, yet he keeps running for United States Senate. He opposed the GOP Tax Scam until it included cuts for himself and his wealthy business donors. He doesn’t believe the government should help provide childcare, saying that’s not society’s responsibility, and he doesn’t support Wisconsin’s working families. He repeatedly praised outsourcing and said the minimum wage was “price fixing.” He even opposed fighting for Wisconsin jobs that were shipped out of state.
Tim Michels, running for governor in Wisconsin, personally vowed that Republicans would never lose again if he was elected. He told LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites not to bring their identity “onto the public street.” After Roe v. Wade was overturned, he praised the decision, and he supported rolling Wisconsin’s abortion rights back to the 1849 ban. He even threatened “to scrub all the voter rolls,” putting the fundamental right to cast a ballot at risk. He’s not fit to lead Wisconsin.
November 8
This is just a handful of the dangerous Republicans on the ballot this Election Day but it is by no means an exhaustive list — for more on the Republicans we’re tracking this cycle, go to our website. Don’t be fooled, they’re all pulling from the same, extreme playbook, threatening Americans’ fundamental rights as we know them. Let’s hold them accountable on November 8.
