Washington, DC — Following the Kelly Loeffler campaign’s attempts to distance her from a photo with a former Maryland KKK leader who went prison for viciously beating a Black man and marched with white supremacists in Charlottesville, People For the American Way leaders are demanding that Loeffler, candidate for U.S. Senate in the Georgia runoff against Rev. Raphael Warnock, disavow all racist, far-right supporters. These include newly-elected U.S. House member from Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene, with whom Loeffler has had repeated engagement. Greene is a QAnon conspiracy theorist and 9/11 denier known for espousing bigoted views.
Loeffler accepted Greene’s endorsement in October and rallied with her just two days before the November 3 election. Greene has publicly posted racist rants about Muslim “invasions” of the U.S., called Holocaust survivor and Democratic activist George Soros a Nazi and expressed that she would feel proud to see a Confederate monument if she were Black. During the pandemic, she has also called people who are unemployed lazy and blamed them for making poor choices.
“We demand that Kelly Loeffler disavow ignorant, racist extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene,” said People For the American Way President Ben Jealous. “There is no room in the U.S. Senate for Loeffler and others who keep turning a blind eye to Greene’s bigoted remarks about people without jobs, Black women seeking higher education opportunities, Muslim Americans and Jews. Loeffler’s alliance with Greene is a wink and a nod to the Old South and the new Jim Crow. As Americans, we value dignity, unity, democracy, and justice. Our demand is unwavering.”
“Georgia is the battleground in the fight for the future of the Republican Party,” said Adele Stan, director of Right Wing Watch, a project of People For the American Way. “It’s also the center for the latest misinformation campaigns and barrage of baseless claims of voter fraud, which is part of the old GOP playbook. Loeffler and far-right activist supporters like Marjorie Taylor Greene are desperately falling back on fear mongering and falsehoods to confuse Georgia’s swing voters and discourage others from going to the polls.”
“God is not the author of confusion,” said Rev. Timothy McDonald, senior pastor of the First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA and president of the African American Ministers In Action of People for the American Way. “Loeffler should strongly denounce Greene and her hateful rhetoric. Georgia voters turned the peach state blue in the 2020 presidential election and we also sent a clear message that time is up for the toxic allegiances to racist ideas that undermine the health and safety of Georgians and millions of Americans.”
People For’s demand that Loeffler disavow Greene comes as early voting in Georgia is under way. People For is engaging in outreach to offer voters accurate information about the candidates’ records on issues including health care, racial justice and climate change.
On the national implications of the Georgia runoffs, Jealous said, “This election will change the future of our country, protect health care, and finally address COVID relief and the economic downfall. We have to win in Georgia, and we will.”
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About People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. Learn more: https://www.pfaw.org