QAnon-aligned candidate wins GOP Senate primary in Delaware

• Lauren Witzke, a far-right activist who’s previously expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, won the Republican primary for a US Senate seat in Delaware on Tuesday. 
• Witzke has posed in a QAnon-branded t-shirt and repeatedly tweeted out the QAnon motto, WWG1WGA, which stands for Where We Go One We Go All.
• In January, however, Witzke told the Associated Press that she no longer supported the delusion, calling it “more hype than substance.” 
• The political newcomer will try to unseat Democratic Sen. Chris Coons in the November general election. 
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Lauren Witzke, a far-right activist who’s previously expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, won the Republican primary for a US Senate seat in Delaware on Tuesday. 

Witzke, a former Iowa field organizer for President Donald Trump, campaigned on the president’s “America First” agenda, and advocates banning immigration for 10 years and reducing family welfare benefits.

The political newcomer handily beat her Republican primary opponent, lawyer Jim Demartino, with about 57% of the vote.

Witzke has posed in a QAnon-branded T-shirt and repeatedly tweeted out the QAnon motto, WWG1WGA, which stands for Where We Go One We Go All. The far-right conspiracy posits that Trump is secretly battling a cabal of “deep state” Satan-worshiping pedophiles, including Democratic politicians, who are working to oust him and simultaneously running an international child sex-trafficking ring. 

Trump has embraced supporters of the conspiracy, calling them “people that love our country” and citing their support for his presidency. 

—Lauren Witzke for U.S. Senate (@LaurenWitzkeDE) March 6, 2019

In recent months, Witzke has attempted to distance herself from this stance, telling the Associated Press in January that she no longer supports the fringe delusion.

QAnon is a “mainstream psyops to get people to ‘trust the plan’ and not do anything,” she said, adding, “I certainly think it’s more hype than substance.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee slammed Witzke in a statement to Business Insider, calling her association with QAnon “disqualifying and part of a disturbing trend this cycle of Republican candidates and incumbents embracing or endorsing dangerous conspiracy theories and peddling disinformation in the middle of a crisis.”

A spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment. 

There are several other QAnon-aligned Republicans running for congressional seats this year. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an unabashed QAnon supporter, is virtually guaranteed to win a US House seat in Georgia after her Democratic opponent dropped out of the race earlier this month. And Lauren Boebert, the Republican nominee for a Colorado House seat, has also backed QAnon and is running in a competitive, previously Republican-held district. 

In the November general election, Witzke faces an uphill battle against Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, who’s held the seat in the blue state for a decade. 

—Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 16, 2020