The victory will also put national Republicans in the difficult position of how to respond.
Greene grabbed in the run-up to GOP opponent John Cowan. The two candidates previously competed against each other in a primary election in June, in which Greene won roughly 40% of the vote, while Cowan received only 21%. A runoff was triggered after none of the candidates received more than 50% of the votes in the first primary.
The primary runoff for the 14th Congressional District of Georgia, located in the northwest corner of the state, attracted national attention as a major flashpoint in the race is Greene’s promotion of the wild and non-stop conspiracy theory known as QAnon.
While the theory is unbelievable enough to invite all sorts of interpretations from its supporters, QAnon claims at its core that President Donald Trump has been secretly fighting to bring down a cabal of satan-worshiping pedophiles who are all levels of the U.S. government and other elite institutions.
Greene reiterated and promoted QAnon theories and phrases, praising the mythical Q as a “patriot” in a 2017 video, describing the collusion theory as “something worth listening to and paying attention to.” She added, “He’s someone who loves his country very much, and he’s on the same page as us, and he’s very pro-Trump.”
Greene is also facing a backlash over the revelation of comments from the past, including saying that there is “an Islamic invasion in our government offices”, and the progressive billionaire activist George Soros, who is Jewish, a “Nazi” call. Corps leaders of the House responded with condemnation following a report in Politico that was made during the day and other inflammatory remarks in June.
Rep. Louisiana’s Steve Scalise, the second-ranked Republican in the House of Representatives, called Greene’s remarks “disgusting” and responded by supporting Cowan. Scalise has since donated legs to Cowan and has helped fundraise for his campaign.
At a primary debate, she was asked to respond to the criticism she received from House GOP leadership over the comments, Greene said, “If you are a Republican and if you are unapologetically conservative like me, you will you people like me are called racist even if it’s very unfair. ”
During the same debate, Greene was asked if she was a successor to QAnon. She responded by saying in part, “I’m doing my loyalty to the United States of America. I, like many Americans, am distrustful of the Deep State that has launched an attempt to oust President Trump. ” She added, “Yes, I am against all those things and I will work hard against those problems.”
The seat for Georgia’s 14th Congress District is currently held by Republican Rep. Tom Graves, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2010 and announced last year that he would not seek re-election in 2020.
CNN’s Michael Warren contributed to this report.
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