Fringe Candidates on Ballot in Seven States
Among the thousands of candidates for political office who are brought out by every election cycle, there are almost always a number from the ideological fringe. This year, a mid-term election that could give control of the Senate (and therefore, both houses of Congress) to the Republican Party, is no exception. Here’s a brief roundup of a few:
Richard Bunck, Town Council, Apple Valley, Calif.: Bunck was once a member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist White People’s Party, and was mentored by racist Christian Identity pastor John Hale McGee.
Robert Ransdell (write-in), U.S. Senate, Kentucky: Ransdell is a former regional coordinator for the neo-Nazi National Alliance and flaunts campaign signs that say, “With Jews We Lose.”
Jerry DeLemus, sheriff, Strafford County, N.H.: DeLemus is a local Tea Party activist whose wife is a state representative and head of a Tea Party chapter. He attended a meeting geared to forming a militia last year.
Michael Peroutka (R), County Council, Anne Arundel County, Md.: Peroutka is an attorney who runs the far-right Institute on the Constitution. He also has been a board member of the neo-Confederate League of the South, which calls for a second Southern secession, formation of a white-dominated country, and an end to interracial marriage.
Jody Hice (R), U.S. Congress, Georgia: Hice wants to deny First Amendment protection to Muslims; believes in the false idea that states have the right to nullify federal laws; has compared homosexuality to alcoholism and drug addiction; and believes women should get their husbands’ permission before running for office.
Gordon Klingenschmitt (R), state legislature, Colorado: Klingenschmitt believes that demonic spirits cause homosexuality and abortion and that the Federal Communications Commission, by not tightening decency standards, is allowing demons to “molest and visually rape” children. He has also claimed that gay people cannot serve in the military due to having to take breaks during battle to change their diapers because their “treacherous sin” causes them to “lose their bowels.”
Joni Ernst (R), U.S. Senate, Iowa: Ernst has endorsed nullifying the Affordable Care Act and imprisoning federal officials who attempt to implement it; endorsed impeaching President Obama; and claimed that the United Nations is forcing Agenda 21—a 1992 non-binding resolution encouraging countries to be more environmentally sustainable—on Iowa farmers, something that will supposedly result in their land being taken away. s
