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WASHINGTON The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to revoke normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, another step the federal government hopes will end the Russian war in Ukraine.

The 424-8 vote sends the measure, which refers to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko as ruthless dictators, to the Senate.

GOP Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas all voted against the bill.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, urged lawmakers to vote for the package during floor debate Thursday, saying it would tell Vladimir Putin that norms still matter.

This House is being asked today whether to repeal Russias permanent, normal trade relations status. The question ought to be: Is Russia behaving like a normal, law-abiding nation? And of course, the resounding answer of the world has been No, Hoyer said.

Texas Republican Kevin Brady, the ranking member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, also urged members to vote for the bill, saying it was a crucial step in standing up for Ukraine and democracy.

It takes an important bipartisan step forward to make sure Russian products dont enter into the U.S. with the same treatment that the invaded country, Ukraines products, come into the United States, Brady said.

Grothman said before the vote that while he believes suspending normal trade relations with Russia is important, he had concerns about the part of the bill that would alter a human rights law, known as the Magnitsky Act.

Grothman said he was concerned that the changes to part of that law, defining human rights abuses, could possibly be used to apply economic sanctions to countries over their stance on LGBTQ rights or abortion laws.

Brady said he also opposed Democrats adding changes to the Magnitsky Act to the legislation, saying the new language is unnecessarily vague and could lead to future abuses.

I understand this expanded language may have been included in the temporary executive order by the previous administration to address human rights, but I dont believe its warranted in a permanent expansion of this law, Brady said. Im confident there are senators who share my concerns. And I strongly urge them to remove that provision.

Biden announcement

The bill follows through on President Joe Bidens announcement last week that the U.S., European Union and Group of 7 nations would all remove permanent normal trade relations or most favored nation status with Russia as part of Western democracies response to its war against Ukraine.

Biden said last week that he supported Congress taking the steps needed to remove Russias favored trade status, saying revoking PNTR for Russia is going to make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Thursday morning hes working with Republicans to quickly move the 23-page bill through the Senate.

For weeks members of the Senate, the House and the White House have been working together to draft a strong and effective bill that will increase the pain on Putins Russia and that our European allies will accept, he said on the floor.

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To date, both parties, Democrat and Republican, remain united in sending Putin a clear message: His inhumane violence against the Ukrainian people will come at a crippling price, and todays step by the House is another way we are making that come true, he continued.

Once the Senate clears the measure and Biden signs it, Russia and Belarus will join Cuba and North Korea as the only nations without most favored nation status with the United States.

Most favored nation status generally means a country enjoys preferential trading relations, including low tariffs on their goods.

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US House moves to revoke Russia, Belarus trade status; 8 Republicans vote no - Idaho Capital Sun

Like most presidents, Donald Trump changed the political party he led. But Trump was hardly a normal president.

That was apparent while Trump was president, but in many ways thats even easier to understand now that he is out of office. Unlike previous presidents, Trump has refused to take a step back from the limelight. Instead, he has continued to try and be the partys kingmaker, playing a far more active role in the 2022 primaries than he did in 2018 and 2020. His endorsements have gotten bolder and more aggressive down ballot, and hes often used them to root out those who oppose him or his false claims about the 2020 election results.

He also still commands considerable personal loyalty among voters within the party. But as Ive written before, there is evidence that the alliance between Republicans and Trump is uneasy, and it could test how much clout he carries in the party. To be sure, that doesnt mean we should expect Republicans to break from Trump en masse, but nevertheless, there are signs that both Trumps style and ideas are evolving as other politicians take them up and inevitably change them.

In the last few years, a number of ambitious politicians have established a national name for themselves by claiming the Trumpist mantle all while offering voters their own interpretations of Trump-style conservatism. This group includes governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia; senators like Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri; and even erstwhile members of the Trump administration like former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Though a few of these figures, like Cruz and Haley, had national ambitions prior to the Trump era, many became national figures starting in 2016 and thus created political profiles inextricably linked to Trump. Lets take a look, then, at how these aspiring GOP leaders are reinventing or resisting Trumpism and what this might mean for the future of the Republican Party.

The first category of note is politicians who have tried to distance themselves from Trumps political style without really rejecting any of his views. The most prominent example of a GOP politician in this group is probably Youngkin, whose November 2021 victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race could serve as a model for Trump-style candidates running in purple states. What remains to be seen is whether this type of Trumpian politician will be any more successful at governing than Trump was. Youngkins administration so far has veered to the right and relied heavily on culture war tactics like going after critical race theory in schools, which hasnt proved popular among voters in the state. Its possible that this approach isnt a political winner in a purple state, even when the Democratic brand is struggling.

Some Republicans have gone further than Youngkin, though, explicitly trying to separate loyalty to Trump and his policy positions from believing in the Big Lie, the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Former New Jersey Gov. and Trump transition leader Chris Christie, who has also criticized Trumps general approach to politics, has said, for instance, that the Republican Party needs to move on from false beliefs about the last presidential election. He also recently told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt that Trump incited the Jan. 6 riot.

Pence has also publicly contradicted Trump, suggesting that Trump was wrong to claim that the vice president could overturn the results when Congress met to count the Electoral College votes. Hes also repudiated Trumps embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Haley has tried to strike more of a middle-of-the-road approach, criticizing Pences rebuke of Trump while maintaining publicly that Biden won the 2020 election. In other words, theres a not-so-insubstantial faction of Republicans trying to split the difference when it comes to Trumpism. They derive some of their national stature from their affiliation with Trump but disavow some of his more extreme positions.

Some Republicans, though, have broken even more decisively with Trump. Members of this group vary in their relationship to Trumps legislative agenda some actually backed core components of his policy goals but theyre nonetheless distinct from others in the party in that theyre not trying to reinterpret Trumpism; rather, theyre aiming to distance themselves from it. Some prominent Republicans who fall into this group include Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

A key distinction, though, between these figures and Republicans like Christie, Pence or Haley is that its even harder to imagine any of the former entering or gaining traction in a GOP presidential primary. The presence of a more outwardly anti-Trump faction is still significant, though, as it raises questions about the viability of the larger party coalition. Currently, it appears that members of this group will be ostracized. For instance, Cheney and Kinzinger have been censured by the Republican National Committee. Cheney also lost her leadership position for her comments about the 2020 election and support for Trumps second impeachment, and Kinzinger, who also supported Trumps second impeachment, isnt seeking reelection.

Finally, the polar opposite of the firmly anti-Trump group are those in the party who seem to be trying to out-Trump Trump, or leaning into the most bombastic reimagining of Trumpism possible. This group most prominently includes DeSantis, who has tried to establish himself as the 2024 front-runner of this wing of the party. As such, he has positioned himself as a leading figure in the GOPs fight to curtail abortion rights and LGBTQ rights and voting rights. He has even criticized Trump from his right, saying in January that he regretted not speaking out in 2020 against Trumps COVID-19 recommendations.

In Congress, this group includes legislators like Sen. Ron Johnson and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn and Paul Gosar. Trying to out-Trump Trump has a lot of different expressions, but among this group of Republicans, it broadly refers to their attitudes toward COVID-19, the 2020 election and electoral democracy in general. This groups rise to prominence illustrates the appeal of a constituency for an even more extreme version of Trumpism. That said, its not clear how broad the appeal is Greene faces several primary challengers (though she is likely to keep her seat) and is unpopular nationally. Meanwhile, Johnsons popularity in his home state of Wisconsin has declined since 2020, and he is up for reelection in November.

At this point, there is a lot of uncertainty about what the post-Trump Republican coalition will look like moving forward. Its possible that the GOP is now completely dominated by one individual, as evidenced by the purge of those who pushed back on the 45th presidents fraudulent claims that the election was stolen from him. But there are still other voices in the party, including some that have pushed back on some aspects of Trumpism.

In fact, if the largest group of Republicans prove to be that which seeks to reinterpret Trumpism in some way, its possible itll end up wielding a lot of influence in the party. The key question here is whether these Republicans can carve out their own political identities while still drawing on the past president, as Trump and Trumpism now define the the partys factions. This is a common dilemma for politicians after an influential presidency. And it still remains to be seen whether Trumpism is open to reinterpretation by others, or whether, as is often the case in highly personal political movements, the ideology proves impossible to separate from the leader.

In 2021, political scientist Hans Noel wrote that Republicans could agree to disagree about democracy, citing the need for parties to form broad coalitions in the U.S. political system and the many historical examples of such coalitions exiting despite deep differences within them. But disagreeing over the basic tenets of democracy might prove too much of an intra-party fissure for Republicans to overcome to form a coalition.

The fact, too, that it is so hard to imagine a post-Trump Republican Party speaks to just how successful Trump has been in seizing control of the party, whether its from election officials at the state and local level or from the RNC. And its perhaps the biggest reason why in 2024, as was the case in 2016, a well-known but divisive figure including Trump himself might once again step in and fill the void.

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How Republicans Are Thinking About Trumpism Without Trump - FiveThirtyEight

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FIRST ON FOX: The political wing of a top grassroots group that represents Jewish Republicans across the country is endorsing GOP Sen. Ron Johnson as he runs for re-election this year in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.

And the Republican Jewish Coalitions (RJC) PAC, in an announcement shared first with Fox News on Wednesday, also backed nine House GOP lawmakers and four congressional candidates as it made its second round of endorsements ahead of November's midterm elections, when Republicans aim to win back majorities in the House and Senate.

SEN. RON JOHNSON OF WISCONSIN ANNOUNCES 2022 RE-ELECTION

Johnson, a conservative senator first elected in the 2010 Tea Party-fueled red wave and a strong supporter of former President Trump, announced in January that he would run for a third term. Democrats view Johnson as vulnerable, and hes one of the most heavily targeted GOP senators running for re-election this year.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., takes his seat for the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Subcommittee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The race in Wisconsin is one of a handful that could decide which party will control the Senate next year. The chambers currently split 50/50 between the two major political parties, but the Democrats hold the majority thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris through her constitutional role as president of the Senate. That means the GOP needs a net gain of just one seat to reclaim the majority it lost when it was swept in the January 2021 twin Senate runoff contests in Georgia.

In the House, Republicans need a net gain of just five seats in the 435-member chamber to win back the majority they lost in the 2018 midterm elections.

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The RJC is also endorsing Republican Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona (AZ-01), David Valadao of California (CA-22), Andy Harris of Maryland (MD-01), Peter Meijer of Michigan (MI-03), Don Bacon of Nebraska (NE-02), Yvette Herrell of New Mexico (NM-02), Nicole Malliotakis of New York (NY-11), Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (PA-01) and Nancy Mace of South Carolina (SC-01).

Mace was one of the earliest supporters of Trumps successful 2016 campaign to win the White House. But while the freshman House lawmaker didnt vote to impeach Trump 14 months ago, she did publicly say that his rhetoric leading up to the storming of the Capitol "put all of our lives at risk."

Rep Nancy Mace, R-S.C., speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

And in October, Mace was the lone South Carolina Republican to join congressional Democrats in voting to hold former Trump White House senior aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the riot at the Capitol.

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Mace and is backing Republican Katie Arrington who is primary challenging the congresswoman. Trump took aim at Mace and once again praised Arrington at a rally on Saturday in South Carolina.

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The RJC is also endorsing Republican congressional candidates Esther Joy King of Illinois (IL-17), Monica De La Cruz (TX-15) and Wesley Hunt (TX-38) of Texas, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin (WI-03).

In making the endorsements, RJC executive director Matt Brooks told Fox News that "we need Republicans in Congress who will fight for Americas freedom, security, and prosperity, and who support our ally, Israel. The RJC PAC enthusiastically supports these GOP incumbents and challengers, who will help Republicans take back the House and Senate majorities and will bring much-needed sanity back to Capitol Hill."

Noting that the RJCs PAC raised over $10 million in the 2020 cycle for its endorsed House and Senate candidates, Brooks emphasized that "the RJC PAC had a significant impact in 2020 and will continue to make a difference in highly competitive races like these. The candidates we are endorsing today are talented, principled, dedicated public leaders whose elections are top priorities for the GOP in 2022."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference at The Rosen Shingle Creek on Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Wednesdays endorsements are the second batch this cycle by the RJC. Its PAC last year endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Reps. Carlos Gimenez (FL-26) and Maria Salazar (FL-27) of Florida, and Reps. Mike Garcia (CA-25), Young Kim (CA-39) and Michelle Steel (CA-48) of California.

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The RJC is a nearly four-decades-old group that describes itself as "the national grassroots organization of Jewish Republicans and represents tens of thousands of Jewish Republicans across this country."

The late Republican mega donor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who died at age 87 in January of last year, for years played a key leadership role with the RJC and gave it generous financial support.

Excerpt from:
Sen. Ron Johnson tops list of Republicans endorsed by top Jewish GOP organization - Fox News

March 17, 2022

In this issue: Rep. Rice criticizes Trump after S.C. rally and late Rep. Hagedorns wife enters special election

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) criticized former President Donald Trump (R) on March 12 after Trump hosted a rally supporting Russell Fry. Fry is one of 11 challengers to Rice in South Carolinas 7th Congressional District Republican primary.

Rice was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021. Of the seven who are running or may run for re-election, Trump has endorsed challengers to six.

Rice said, Trump is here because, like no one else Ive ever met, he is consumed by spite. I took one vote he didnt like and now hes chosen to support a yes man candidate who has and will bow to anything he says, no matter what. If you want a Congressman who cowers to no man, who votes for what is right, even when its hard, and who has fought like hell for the Grand Strand and Pee Dee, then I hope to earn your vote.

At the rally, Trump said, Right here in the 7th Congressional District, Tom Rice, a disaster. Hes respected by no one, hes laughed at in Washington, he was never thought highly of in Washington. And he was just censured by your great South Carolina GOP. Tom Rice joined the Democrats deranged impeachment witch hunt its all turned out to be a hoax.

Fry thanked Trump in a tweet and said, Conservatives are ready to replace Tom Rice and send a committed conservative to Washington. June 14 comes soon! Its time to #FrytheRice

Rice was first elected in 2012. Fry is a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and was first elected in a 2015 special election.

Cassy Garcia picked up endorsements from four of the five unsuccessful candidates in the Texas 28th Congressional District primary. Garcia faces Sandra Whitten in the May 24 runoff.

Garcia received 23.5% of the primary vote to Whittens 18%.

Garcia was a deputy state director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Whitten is a preschool director and was the districts Republican nominee in 2020, running unopposed in that years primary. Whitten lost to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) 39% to 58%.

Cruz spent $137,000 from his campaign fund in independent expenditures supporting Garcia ahead of the March 1 primary.

Cuellar and 2020 Democratic challenger Jessica Cisneros are also in a primary runoff on May 24. The Cook Political Report and Larry J. Sabatos Crystal Ball moved the general election from Lean Democratic to Toss-up following the primary.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 23 in a case seeking to delay the U.S. Senate special election in Oklahoma. Attorney Stephen Jones alleges in the lawsuit that the state would violate the 17th Amendment by holding the special election before Sen. Jim Inhofes resignation is effective on Jan. 3, 2023. Jones represented Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing trial.

Inhofe (R) announced in what he called an irrevocable pledge on Feb. 28 that hell retire in January, four years before his term expires. According to state law, a vacancy or irrevocable resignation for Senate taking place on or before March 1 in an even-numbered year is to be filled by special election at the time of the next regularly scheduled statewide election. The special primary and general elections for Inhofes seat are set for the same dates as this years regular elections.

The 17th Amendment states, When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

Joe Thai, a constitutional law professor at the University of Oklahoma Law School, said, If you look at the text of the 17t [sic] Amendment, it talks about vacancies in the present tense. Jones has an argument there; that the legislature is getting ahead of the ball.

James Davenport, a Rose State College political science professor, said the case hinges on whether an irrevocable resignation creates a vacancy: The court would have to find something that would be fairly clear in striking that process (the irrevocable resignation) down. Additionally, the court would need to make a decision quickly, they dont have a whole lot of time.

The filing deadline is currently set for April 15 and the special primary for June 28.

As of the end of Februaryeight months before the general election45 members of the U.S. House had announced they would not seek re-election. At the same time in the 2020 election cycle, 34 representatives had announced they wouldnt seek re-election. That number was 46 in 2018.

Former Minnesota Party chair announces campaign for late husbands district

On Monday, former Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan announced her GOP primary bid for the special election in Minnesotas 1st Congressional District. The previous incumbent and Carnahans husband, Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R), died of cancer on Feb. 17.

Carnahan served as Minnesota Republican Party chair from 2017 to 2021. Carnahan resigned in August after an associate and GOP donor, Anton Lazzaro, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. Four former state party executive directors also said Carnahan fostered a toxic work environment.

Carnahan said, Strong leaders frequently end up with enemies. You could pick almost any Member out of the Congressional register and come up with similar attacks. Carnahan said she condemned Lazzaro after the accusations were made public and that Lazzaro also donated to other Republicans. This is clearly a double standard. Its time to move on.

Former Minnesota Republican Party Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb said, I think [Carnahan] has a lot of unresolved political baggage that will put the congressional district in play for the Democrats.

The primary field includes at least nine other candidates.

Among them is Brad Finstad, a former state representative who served as director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota during the Trump administration. U.S. Rep. GT Thompson (R-Pa.) endorsed Finstad. Thompson is the Republican leader on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, on which Hagedorn previously served.

Also running is state Rep. Jeremy Munson, co-founder of the New House Republican Caucus, a group of four state House members who split from the Republican caucus in 2019 after disagreements with party leadership. All four caucus members called on Carnahan to resign as party chair in August. U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the House Freedom Caucus chair, endorsed Munson.

Recent elections in the district have been close. Current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who represented the district from 2007 to 2019, defeated Hagedorn in 2016 50.3% to 49.6%. In 2018, Hagedorn defeated Democrat Dan Feehan 50.1% to 49.7%. Hagedorn defeated Feehan again 48.6% to 45.5% in 2020.

The special primary is scheduled for May 24. The special general election will be Aug. 9. A regular election for the district takes place Nov. 8.

A bill Trump endorsed that would have changed when voters could switch their party affiliation before a primary died in the Wyoming House of Representatives last week.

Politicos Meridith McGraw wrote that Trump and his allies [had] been privately lobbying Wyoming lawmakers to change the states election laws as part of an effort to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Trump publicly endorsed the bill, saying, This critically important bill ensures that the voters in each party will separately choose their nominees for the General Election, which is how it should be!

Currently, Wyoming primary voters can switch their party affiliation on the same day as the states primary elections. SF0097 would have changed the deadline to before the start of the candidate filing period, which falls in May this year. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 16.

The Hills Reid Wilson reported, Supporters of the bill said making the change would prevent Democrats or independent voters from casting a ballot in the Republican primary presumably, voters who would be more likely to favor Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump and who sits on the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump endorsed Harriet Hageman in the primary in September, calling Cheney a warmonger and disloyal Republican and the Democrats [sic] number one provider of sound bites.

The Wyoming Senate passed the bill 18-12 on Feb. 25. On March 7, the House Appropriations Committee recommended that the bill not pass. According to the Casper Star-Tribunes Victoria Eavis, the House adjourned without considering the bill by the March 8 deadline. Wyomings 2022 legislative session ended on March 11. The GOP has a 28-2 majority in the state Senate and a 51-7 majority in the House.

According to the Associated Press Mead Gruver, Similar measures have failed in the Wyoming Legislature in recent years amid concern that narrowing the dates in the law could dampen turnout.

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Heart of the Primaries 2022, Republicans-Issue 14 Ballotpedia News - Ballotpedia News

As the far right in America seeks to increase its political influence, including by seeking elected office, one figure is emerging as potentially its most powerful figure: Idahos lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin.

McGeachin is running for governor of the state and building a coalition including white nationalist and far-right militia backing, in what she tells her supporters is the fight of our lives.

Last month at the America First Political Action Conference, a white nationalist conference, McGeachin praised attendees: Keep up the good work fighting for our country, she said in a pre-taped address.

I need fighters all over this country that are willing stand up and fight, McGeachin continued, urging attendees to push out moderates in the Republican party. Even when that means fighting amongst our own ranks because there are too many Republicans who do not exhibit the courage that is needed today for us to fight and protect our freedoms and our liberties. We are literally in the fight for our lives.

Three years after attending the the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, the far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes created the white nationalist conference AFPAC in the hopes of branding it a far-right alternative to the more mainstream conservative gathering CPAC. Fuentes is a well-known white nationalist and notorious antisemite who mocks how Jews were murdered in the Holocaust while also denying the Holocaust occurred.

McGeachin has a history of giving speeches and mingling at far-right rallies, often riding the wave of the latest rightwing outrage. Last year at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, McGeachin gave a rousing speech at a mask-burning event on the Idaho capitol steps, where children burned masks in front of their parents.

The Guardian reported last year on the growing civil war inside the Republican party in Idaho, when McGeachin imposed a ban on masks while the governor was out of state. McGeachin also created a taskforce to look into claims of indoctrination in schools in order to project children from the scourge of Critical Race Theory, socialism, communism and Marxism according to documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman newspaper.

This month McGeachin also jumped on the cause of the trucker convoy protest, speaking at a locally planned convoy rally in Idaho. According to local TV station KTVB about 500 people showed up to protest against Covid-19 mandates, though Idaho has none. McGeachin told the crowd Sometimes they refer to us as being extreme for our views, before reading out loud a quote from Barry Goldwater defending extremism in pursuit of liberty. We are a free nation and it is so important that we stand now and continue to fight for that freedom and that liberty that makes this country so great, she said.

McGeachin has also attended a gathering where she was endorsed by a rightwing militia figure whom she had apparently made political promises too. In a video previously obtained by the Guardian Eric Parker who was charged over his role in the standoff in 2014 at Bundy Ranch in Nevada where he was pictured pointing an assault rifle at federal agents reminded McGeachin that she once told if I get in, youre going to have a friend in the governors office.

Experts who follow the far right in the US believe McGeachin represents a serious threat, especially as more militia-affiliated groups have started to enter local government in the US, such as in Californias Shasta county.

From her recent speech at AFPAC, continued embrace of white nationalism and endorsements from prominent antisemitic leaders to her longstanding ties with paramilitaries, it couldnt be clearer that McGeachin is a danger to the rule of law, Idaho communities and democratic institutions, said Amy Herzfeld-Copple, deputy director of programs at Western States Strategies, a non-profit that works for inclusive democracy through nonpartisan education and advocacy.

A total of 31 faith leaders in Idaho recently signed an open letter calling for McGeachin to resign. Rabbis, reverends, pastors and others of different faiths across the state warned in the letter of the staggering consequences of ignoring extremism and describe a rising tide of antisemitism here in Idaho.

The letter cited recent acts of vandalism including at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise. It said: By associating with alt-right actors and groups like AFPAC in addition to your ties to militia groups that advocate for political violence and harassment in Idaho, you have proven you are not fit to hold elected office, let alone serve a heartbeat away from becoming Idahos next governor.

Rabbi Dan Fink of Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise, who co-signed the letter, said in an interview with KTVB that he was courted by McGeachin earlier this year, to help with a campaign against antisemitism.

The dissonance was so extraordinary. I both hurt and at some level, had to laugh because it was surreal, Fink said in the interview, appalled that McGeachin would share a stage with a Holocaust denier while trying to enlist a rabbis help. That you have the chutzpah to reach out to me and say help me on antisemitism while going out and glorying in the presence of antisemites is extraordinary, Fink said.

Herzfeld-Copple said it was not clear how deep McGeachins popular support was in Idaho.

McGeachin is a troubling anti-democracy figure in our region seeking to build a national profile with violent and bigoted social movements that increasingly see her as their access to power. But we know these extremists are a minority and Idahoans have routinely rejected those who court white nationalists, said Herzfeld-Copple.

But far-right controversy is never far away from McGeachin and this week she took the highly unusual step of intervening on behalf of a far-right group in a child welfare case involving a 10-month old baby who is the grandson of a campaign consultant for the militia leader Ammon Bundy, founder of the far-right group Peoples Rights.

The child had been taken away from the parents after officials determined the child was suffering from severe malnourishment and in imminent danger. But the Idaho Statesman obtained text messages between McGeachin and Governor Brad Little showing McGeachin seeking to intervene in the case. Is this true? Call off this medical tyranny tell the hospital to release the baby to his parents, she wrote.

Bundy himself was subsequently arrested this week for trespassing at St Lukes hospital, where he went to protest with scores of supporters over what he called a medical kidnapping.

Nearly every day, McGeachins actions become more dangerous. She contradicted pleas from law enforcement and hospital officials and used her government Facebook page to discuss a confidential child welfare case, contributing to a mob of Ammon Bundy supporters that caused a lockdown at Idahos largest hospital, compromising delivery of patient and emergency care, said Herzfeld-Copple.

Experts who monitor the far right note that while there is a growing number of far-right legislators at the state and federal level, such as the Arizona state sentator Wendy Rogers, who has admitted to being a member of the Oath Keepers militia, or the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spoke at the same white nationalist conference as McGeachin amid chants of support for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

If McGeachin were to win the race and become governor in Idaho it would be a major victory for far-right politics in America.

There are a lot of implications for having someone in the executive branch giving the stamp of approval to far-right paramilitary groups and white nationalists, said Devin Burghart, executive director of Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights.

In recent years it is unprecedented to see a lieutenant governor doing things like participating in a white nationalist conference or weighing in on a far-right-driven child endangerment issue, we havent seen that high a level of support for the far right since the days of the Council of Conservative Citizens, the lineal descendants of the White Citizens Council in the south. said Burghart.

Burghart warned that state politics and far-right extremism in the sparsely populated west of the US is often forgotten in the national political conversation, but it can have major consequences.

What happens out here in the west becomes a model, a testing ground for far-right activism. And what happens out here in the west doesnt stay in the west, it migrates around the country, said Burghart.

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Republican hopes to ride far-right rage into Idahos governors office - The Guardian