Capitol Insurrectionists Run for Office in 2022

     On June 9th, 2022, the same day as the first hearing of the House January 6th Committee, Ryan D. Kelley was arrested on four misdemeanor charges for his involvement in the January 6th Capitol insurrection. He faces a maximum of three years in prison, although, in cases like this one, more serious charges are often brought later on. Mr. Kelley is not just some guy: he is a Republican candidate for governor. With his indictment, Mr. Kelley's chances of winning in 2022 have slipped to virtually zero. This is just days after the Supreme Court of Michigan permanently ended the candidacies of five more GOP candidates for governor. With six of the 10 candidates seemingly out, only four remain, none of whom are household names in the state, just weeks before the Michigan primary. This is in the same year as Michigan's maps for the federal and state legislatures were ungerrymandered, the Democrats may have their first chance to retake control of the Michigan House in over a decade, Governor Whitmer has seen increasing popularity, and a Democratic majority on the Michigan Supreme Court and two Democratic senators remain. I have a good feeling about Michigan this year.

     Kelley isn't the only prominent Republican facing scrutiny over their actions on January 6th. Derrick Van Orden is running for a U.S. House seat in Wisconsin, with Democratic incumbent Ron Kind announcing his retirement and politician Brad Pfaff and businesswoman Rebecca Cooke vying to win the nomination for his spot in the primary. Van Orden made national headlines when he harassed teenage girls working in a local library over books with LGBT2SQIA+ characters, and he, too, was on Capitol grounds on January 6th. So was Doug Mastriano, the GOP nominee for governor of Pennsylvania. While neither has been charged, they could both wind up in positions of power if they are not criminally indicted before Halloween. Mr. Kelley and others have been charged for less, so these are two of the most important indictments for the health of our democracy.

     It's not just prominent politicians who could face charges over January 6th: in some cases, people who have already been convicted and/or sentenced for crimes committed that day have run for office. Jason Riddle, who was sentenced to three months in prison for chugging a bottle of wine he stole on January 6th, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Hampshire, aiming to win the GOP primary in September and unseat incumbent Annie Kuster in November. In Pennsylvania, Dawn Bancroft, who also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and is also certain to face prison time for her actions on January 6th (saying she wanted to shoot Nancy Pelosi in "her friggin' brain") won the Republican primary for Doylestown borough committeewoman in May. 

     This is no surprise: this is the Republican Party. The RNC has called January 6th "legitimate political discourse." It's not just January 6th: in Indiana just weeks ago, Andrew Wilhoite, who confessed to murdering his wife, who was recovering from a battle with cancer, won the Republican primary for a local town board. If I had one headline to sum up the Republican Party in 2022, it would be that one. Both parties are not the same.