Politics

Political Newcomer Who Supported QAnon, Lauren Witzke, Wins Delaware Senate Primary

Political newcomer Lauren Witzke won Delaware’s Republican senatorial primary Tuesday, becoming the latest candidate with ties to the QAnon conspiracy to become a GOP nominee for political office.

Witzke beat attorney James DiMartino, the GOP’s preferred candidate, by almost 14 points, according to The New York Times, winning all three of the state’s counties. She is now set to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Chris Coons in November.

Witzke also faced criticism over her alleged support for QAnon, a conspiracy that believes a “deep state” tied to pedophilia is attempting to sabotage President Donald Trump, after tweeting a photo of herself in one of its shirts and using one of its signature hashtags, The Hill reported.

QAnon supporter Lauren Witzke just won a GOP Senate primary in Delaware, making her the second QAnon supporter to win a Republican Senate nomination this cycle. Here’s Witzke in a QAnon shirt. She’s also tweeted the QAnon hashtag #wwg1wga. pic.twitter.com/hb0d6s2D03

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 16, 2020

Despite the tweet, Witzke has tried to distance herself from the conspiracy, telling the Associated Press that it is nothing more than a “mainstream psyops to get people to ‘trust the plan’ and not do anything,” referencing the slogan often used by QAnon supporters.

“I certainly think it’s more hype than substance,” she said in January.

Though Witzke has attempted to distance herself from the conspiracy, a record number of GOP congressional nominees have been tied to it, including some who are favored to win their elections in November. Colorado congressional nominee Lauren Boebert said in May that she “hoped” the conspiracy was true “because it only means that America is getting stronger and better,” according to the Colorado Times Recorder, while Georgia congressional nominee Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has supported QAnon and supported other false theories, is almost guaranteed to be elected in November since her opponent recently dropped out of the race.

However, forecasters say that Witzke is unlikely to beat Coons in Delaware, a blue state that reelected him by 14 points in 2014.