At least three Republicans running for the U.S. House of Representatives attended a "Stop Theft" rally on January 6, 2021, and marched toward the Capitol building as they tried to stop the confirmation of Joe Biden's victory.
A number of other Republican candidates for the House of Representatives are skeptical and deny that the 2020 election was lost by former President Donald Trump.
It is geographically, racially and culturally the most diverse group of Republican candidates in the modern era of American elections, which includes veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and small business owners. Many of them, like Trump in 2016, are political newcomers and have never been elected to official office.
If they are elected in the elections on November 8, these political outsiders, populists, and even some extremists, could increase the intensity on Capitol Hill. They would be an untested and potentially unruly majority if Republicans take the House majority in the midterm elections.
"Trump is inspiring all of this," said John Fehery, a Republican and longtime spokesman for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
"There aren't a lot of shysters," are the words Feheri used to describe the Republican candidates. "There aren't many people who try to be moderate. They are warriors for their beliefs."
Republicans are increasingly confident that they will take control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats. The party whose president is in the White House has traditionally suffered electoral setbacks during a presidential term, and Democrats have been weighed down by Biden's poor approval ratings and voter unease over the impact of inflation on the economy.
A diverse pool of candidates
In many ways, Republicans are reassembling Trump's coalition with a well-funded but unusual alliance of candidates who mirror his supporters: charismatic Trump-style media stars, "America First" military veterans, women, minorities, and what's left of traditional conservatives of the Republican Party.
"This is going to be the most diverse Republican class ever, in every sense of the word," said Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican congressman from Florida. "What this means for the functioning of the government is a big question mark".
At the same time, some of the Republican candidates for the House of Representatives have experience with elected positions, or are more moderate conservatives who have advanced in their careers by holding public office. Among them is the former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Alan Fung, the son of immigrants who is trying to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of a Democrat.
Still, this group of Republicans will likely be defined by Donald Trump-style newcomers.
Retired US Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden traveled to Washington on January 6 last year - although he insists he did not join the attack on the Capitol. He is considered a rising star poised to defeat Brad Faf for one of Wisconsin's long-held Democratic seats.
Corey Mills of Florida drew attention with a provocative campaign ad in which the former special operations veteran, who later served as Trump's Pentagon adviser, boasted of his company's riot gear used against Black Lives Matter protesters. important" and other liberal groups.
Carolyn Leavitt wasn't her party's first choice to challenge Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, but Republican voters have made the former Trump White House media aide, who has questioned the results of the 2020 election, their nominee.
"She's an election denier who believes the last election was stolen from Donald Trump," Pappas said during their debate.
Leavitt recently stated during a public event that Biden is in fact the "legitimate president," and responded that Pappas voted with Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "100% of the time."
The candidates are connected by their attitude towards Trump
Unlike the 2010 Republican group that came to Congress to cut federal budgets or the 2018 Democrats who swept into power on the promise of good governance, the 2022 candidates appear less united on common policies.
Instead, what many Republican recruits share is Trump's rejection of the establishment and civic norms, an approach similar to that of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green — and one that is transforming the party.
Across the country, GOP candidates reflect Trump's enduring influence and willingness to make the far right part of the story. For example, in Washington state, Joe Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA agent, became the candidate after defeating Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Butler, who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in the party primary.
"Kevin McCarthy and the MAGA Republicans have been working overtime to nominate extremist candidates across the country," said CJ Varnke, director of communications for the House Majority Policy Committee, an outside group affiliated with Pelosi. "We look forward to voters rejecting their policies." at the ballot boxes in November".
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is poised to become the leader of the body if Republicans take control, has played a key role in recruiting a new class of candidates that could bring him to power.
Learning from past elections, McCarthy has reached deeper for candidates who better reflect America's diversity, a turnaround from the 2018 election that left only a dozen female Republicans and no black Republicans in the House.
Among Republicans defending their elected positions and those trying to take positions from Democrats are: 28 blacks, 33 Hispanics, 13 Asian Americans and three Native Americans, according to data from the National Republican Campaign Committee.
McCarthy maintained a close, if sometimes rocky, relationship with the former president. In a speech he gave this summer in South Carolina, he stood up for his recruits, many of whom were endorsed by Trump. Since August, McCarthy has visited 34 states in support of Republican candidates and members.
"There's no place we're not going to be a part of the game," McCarthy promised.
Republicans are aiming for traditional Democratic strongholds
Not all Republican candidates are party darlings. In fact, leaders have tried to keep some of the more extreme ones off the ballot.
More than $11 million has been spent on party primaries to support candidates favored by the Republican Party in Virginia, Texas, California and other states. The money came from the Conservative Leadership Fund, an outside group associated with McCarthy.
That fund achieved the desired outcome in most intra-party pre-election races, although there were also failures. In North Carolina, Sandy Smith, who tweeted in Trump style on January 6, “In DC to fight for Trump! Just marched from the Monument to the Capitol!” – she defeated the party favorite.
McCarthy campaigned early with JR Majewski, another Republican candidate from Ohio, who was at the Capitol on January 6. The party stood by him even after the Associated Press reported that he had falsified his military record.
During the primaries, Democrats promoted some far-right candidates, for example in Michigan, helping to elevate Trump-backed John Gibbs in a controversial strategy designed to draw centrist and independent voters away from Republicans.
But Republicans are also making deep inroads into Democratic strongholds in New England, Florida and especially South Texas, where three Hispanic candidates with hardline views on border control reflect a dramatic shift in traditional party affiliation, causing concern among Democrats.
"This moment reflects where the party is now — Republicans are becoming a broader party that's reaching out to all kinds of communities," said CLF spokesman Calvin Moore. path".
However, recruiting and selecting candidates, compared to running a country, requires different skills.
If Republicans win the House, "those individuals will have to learn the values of order and the values of working together as a team," Feheri said. "And that won't come by itself".
Bonus video:
