By: Amy Dong
QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota scored crucial respective victories during the primary and runoff elections of six states on Tuesday. The elections occurred amid concerns regarding mail-in voting and absentee ballots.
A follower of the QAnon movement, Greene triumphed in her House primary runoff election in Georgia, holding an approximately 15 percent lead over her opponent, pro-Trump neurosurgeon John Cowan.
A conspiracy theory emerging in 2017 from 4chan, QAnon details a nefarious deep state plot against President Trump, and has been labeled by the FBI as a potential domestic terrorism threat. The movement’s follower base has become increasingly politically active, running, as Greene has, for positions in the political limelight. Subsequently, it has become increasingly difficult for mainstream Republicans to distance themselves from the onslaught of supporters running for Congressional positions.
“She’s not conservative –– she’s crazy,” Cowan stated to Politico prior to the election on Greene. “She deserves a YouTube channel, not a seat in Congress. She’s a circus act.”
Greene has also been criticized by Republican congressional leaders, as Facebook videos have surfaced that depict Greene making racist and anti-Semitic comments. Yet, on her GOP victory, the Republican party has been largely complacent, with Trump even sending a congratulatory tweet on Wednesday, calling Greene a future star.
Conversely, Democrat Ilhan Omar, member of the group of progressive congresswomen of color known as the Squad, secured re-election to Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District representation. Omar’s fight for left-wing policies has drawn both praise and criticism from across the country, and her victory on Tuesday remains evidence to the impact of her calls for progressive change.
“In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money,” Omar tweeted on Tuesday. “Tonight, our movement didn’t just win. We earned a mandate for change. Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records. Despite the attacks, our support has only grown.”
Concerns in Wisconsin and Georgia also prevailed as the elections came to a close, persisting after the voting fiascos that had emerged in each state earlier in April and June respectively. As test runs for the election in November, both elections ran far smoother than their first test runs earlier that year. However, worries regarding the number of absentee ballots in the mail persisted, as voters were unsure whether their vote would be able to count before the polls closed.