Here are the QAnon supporters running for Congress in 2020

The QAnon conspiracy theory is rooted in the chan message boards. Here are 107 former congressional candidates who embraced it during the 2020 election cycle — including 2 who won.

QAnon congressional candidates

Citation Ceci Freed / Media Matters

Updates (last updated 9/30/22): This article has been repeatedly updated with more congressional candidates, has been rearranged by alphabetical order, and has been updated to note the status of the candidates following the primary and general elections. 

Multiple supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which got its start on far-right message boards, ran for Congress in 2020.

The conspiracy theory, which revolves around an anonymous account known as “Q,” started on far-right message board site 4chan, later moving to fellow far-right message board site 8chan, which has since relaunched as 8kun. (Beyond the QAnon conspiracy theory, 8chan/8kun has been linked to multiple instances of white supremacist terrorism, including the 2019 massacre in El Paso, Texas.)

The “Q” account’s claim -- and the conspiracy theory’s premise -- is that President Donald Trump was working with then-special counsel Robert Mueller to take down the president’s perceived enemies, the “deep state,” and pedophiles. Multiple adherents to the conspiracy theory have been tied to acts of violence, including multiple murders and attempted kidnappings, and an FBI field office released a memo in May 2019 that listed QAnon as a potential domestic terrorism threat.

Among these candidates who have endorsed or given credence to the conspiracy theory or promoted QAnon content:

  • Two candidates, in Georgia and Colorado, were elected to Congress in the general election on November 3. Both are Republicans.
  • Thirty candidates -- 27 Republicans, one member of the Independent Party of Delaware, and two independents -- were on the ballot in November’s general election after competing in primary elections or after fulfilling other requirements needed to get on the ballot.
  • Of those 30 candidates, five were from California, four each were from Georgia and Florida, two each were from Illinois, Arizona, and Delaware, and there was one each from Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Oregon, Ohio, and Texas.
  • Four candidates, one in New York, one in Missouri, and two in Massachusetts, ran as Republican write-ins in the general election. One candidate in Alaska ran as an independent write-in candidate in the general election.
  • In total, 98 of the candidates were Republicans, two were Democrats, one was a Libertarian, one was a member of the Independent Party of Delaware, and five were independents.

Below is the list of 2020 congressional candidates who endorsed or gave credence to the conspiracy theory or promoted QAnon content, divided into sections for 1) candidates elected to Congress; 2) candidates who contested the general election and lost; and 3) candidates who were no longer running or whose status was unknown before the general election.

Candidates elected to Congress

Lauren Boebert (Colorado)

Lauren Boebert was a Republican nominee who won in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District during the general election after winning the Republican primary on June 30. She appeared on the online show Steel Truth, hosted by QAnon supporter Ann Vandersteel, during which Vandersteel asked her if she knew about “the Q movement.” Boebert responded that she was “very familiar with it” and said that while she did not focus on it a lot, she hoped that QAnon “is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better.” She also said that everything she heard about QAnon “is only motivating and encouraging and bringing people together, stronger, and if this is real, then it can be really great for our country.” In May, Boebert also appeared on Patriots' Soapbox, a major QAnon YouTube channel, and she also appears to have a YouTube account that subscribes to multiple QAnon channels. Despite all of that, Boebert has since claimed, “I don’t follow QAnon” and that “QAnon is a lot of things to different people.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia)

Marjorie Taylor Greene was a Republican nominee who won in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District during the general election after coming in first in the Republican primary on June 9 with a plurality and then subsequently winning the primary runoff on August 11. In 2018, she posted on Facebook about an “awesome post by Q” and echoed another “Q” post about a conspiracy theory that the Obama administration got MS-13 gang members to kill Democratic staffer Seth Rich. 

Greene has posted the QAnon slogan on Facebook and on Twitter, the latter in response to a tweet defending the legitimacy of “Q” where she also wrote, “Trust the plan” (another catchphrase QAnon supporters use). She also has tweeted the QAnon-connected hashtag "#GreatAwakening" to far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. She has also appeared in a video where she discussed following QAnon, calling “Q” a “patriot” and “worth listening to,” and in a now-defunct website wrote favorably about the conspiracy theory. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Greene also “has posted a series of tweets defending QAnon, including one” -- now deleted -- “encouraging her followers to message her with questions so she can ‘walk you through the whole thing.’” In August, Greene dubiously claimed to Fox News that she has since chosen “another path” due to “misinformation” from “Q” about the 2018 midterm elections. Greene has also pushed the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

Candidates who contested the general election and lost

Shiva Ayyadurai (Massachusetts)

Shiva Ayyadurai was a Republican who ran as a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. He had been defeated in the Republican primary on September 1, and had subsequently launched a write-in campaign. Ayyadurai has tweeted a misspelled version of the QAnon slogan -- “Where we go one, we go all,” often abbreviated as “WWG1WGA” -- and he has retweeted a tweet that contained the QAnon slogan.

Shiva Ayyadurai QAnon Twitter

Josh Barnett (Arizona)

Josh Barnett was a Republican candidate who ran in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on August 4 by default, running unopposed. In July, in response to an NBC News report about Twitter’s announcement that it would take action against the spread of QAnon on the platform, Barnett tweeted, “Weird to be so paranoid about something that is not real, right?” On both Facebook and Instagram, he has shared posts with QAnon hashtags. Despite those posts, Barnett claimed on August 15 he believes QAnon is “nonsense” and “not even a real thing” and that one of his posts with QAnon hashtags was just “retweeting the article.”

Josh Barnett QAnon Facebook

Joyce Bentley (Nevada)

Joyce Bentley was a Republican candidate who ran in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on June 9. In October 2018, Bentley in a since-deleted tweet posted a link to a YouTube video promoting QAnon from JoeM, a QAnon account with a major following. In the tweet, Bentley wrote out the title of the video, “Q - We Are The Plan.”

Joyce Bentley ‏QAnon tweet

Charlotte Bergmann (Tennessee)

Charlotte Bergmann was a Republican candidate who ran in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on August 6 by default, running unopposed. In late October 2018, when packages containing pipe bombs were mailed out to several prominent Democrats and media figures around the country, Bergmann posted on Facebook, “Q warned that there would be a self-inflicted October surprise. I didn't believe it until now.” She also wrote in comments, “Q said the false-flag would be blamed on a Republican.” On Twitter, she has also posted the QAnon slogan.

Charlotte Bergmann QAnon Facebook

Rayla Campbell (Massachusetts)

Rayla Campbell was a Republican who ran as a write-in candidate in Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. She had unsuccessfully attempted to get on the primary ballot. On Facebook, Campbell’s campaign page posted photos of her wearing a QAnon shirt.

Rayla Campbell QAnon Facebook

Mike Cargile (California)

Mike Cargile was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 35th Congressional District. Cargile was one of the only two candidates who ran in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3, which meant that under California election law, he appeared on the ballot in November’s general election. Cargile’s Twitter profile includes the QAnon slogan and “#OathKeeper,” likely a reference to a far-right armed militia group. He has also tweeted and retweeted the QAnon slogan, and responded “absolutely” to a user's tweet that “now's the time to get On Board” with “#QAnon.” Cargile has since released a statement claiming he has the QAnon slogan in his profile because “it is the perfect sentiment for all Americans to have toward one another” and said that “we’ll see” regarding “actual ‘Q’ intel.”

Mike Cargile QAnon profile image

Erin Cruz (California)

Erin Cruz was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 36th Congressional District. Cruz had come in second in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3, which meant under California election law, she appeared on the ballot in November’s general election. According to NBC News, Cruz believes some of the “Q” posts are “valid information,” saying, “I think that the biggest thing with QAnon is there's information coming out. And sometimes it is in line with what's going on in government.” She also told NBC that she believes “there is someone out there putting information on the internet” as part of QAnon, adding that “a conspiracy theory only sounds crazy until it’s proven.”

Johsie Cruz (Georgia)

Johsie Cruz Ezammudeen was a Republican candidate who ran in Georgia’s 4th Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on June 9 by default, running unopposed. In response to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush criticizing Trump for not denouncing QAnon, Cruz tweeted, “Don’t worry Jeb! QAnon will talk about the Bush family soon. Don’t get desperate, your turn is coming too as well as the Clinton family. Just wait!!!” And on Facebook, Cruz has shared a video called “Q: the Documentary” -- which is also described as “QAnon: An important little film on ‘Q’” -- with Cruz writing alongside it, “New types of war.”

Johsie Cruz QAnon Facebook

Ron Curtis (Hawaii)

Ron Curtis was a Republican candidate who ran in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on August 8. He has written the QAnon slogan (misspelled) while quote-tweeting a likely fake account of Vincent Fusca, a man many QAnon supporters incorrectly believe is actually John F. Kennedy Jr. in disguise. Curtis has also retweeted the QAnon slogan more than once and has retweeted videos and a hashtag for QAnon supporters giving an oath supporting the conspiracy theory. And on Facebook, Curtis has posted a link to a tweet urging that “the QAnon movement must not become comatose.”

Ron Curtis QAnon Twitter

David Foster (Virginia)

David Foster was an independent candidate who ran in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. He has tweeted a variation of the QAnon slogan and has tweeted, “TRAITORS PEDOPHILES TO THE GALLOS...ANY QANON QUESTIONS????”

David Foster QAnon Twitter

Derrick Grayson (Georgia)

Derrick Grayson was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in a special election in Georgia. Under state rules, the race did not have a normal primary process and instead had a free-for-all election for all candidates who submitted the necessary fees and paperwork; Grayson had fulfilled the requirements and appeared on the ballot for the general election. He has tweeted the QAnon slogan and its spinoff hashtag, “#wwg1wgaworldwide.”

Derrick Grayson QAnon Twitter

Alison Hayden (California)

Alison Hayden was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 15th Congressional District. Hayden came in second in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3, which meant under California election law, she appeared on the ballot in November’s general election. On her campaign Twitter account, Hayden has repeatedly retweeted content explicitly promoting QAnon, along with repeatedly tweeting the QAnon-connected hashtag “#GreatAwakening.” She has also tweeted the QAnon hashtag and the spinoff hashtag for the QAnon slogan, “#WWG1WGAWORLDWIDE.” On what Ballotpedia lists as her personal Twitter account (an account her campaign account has previously tagged), she has tweeted the QAnon slogan and “#GreatAwakening.”

Allison Hayden QAnon Twitter post

Sid Hill (Alaska)

Sid Hill was an independent candidate who ran as a “pro-Trump” write-in for the U.S. Senate in Alaska. He tweeted about a YouTube video regarding a “massive intel drop” from “Q clearance” on 4chan when “Q” was posting on the site.

Sid Hill QAnon Twitter

Bob Lancia (Rhode Island)

Bob Lancia was a Republican candidate and a former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives who ran in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on September 8. Lancia retweeted content explicitly promoting QAnon, but has since denied to The Public’s Radio in Rhode Island that he supports the conspiracy theory. Lancia told the outlet that “someone else on his campaign handles his Twitter” and said that his account retweeted QAnon content because “probably it was attached to something else – maybe something to do with the president, MAGA, something like that.”

Bob Lancia QAnon retweets

Tracy Lovvorn (Massachusetts)

Tracy Lovvorn was a Republican candidate who ran in Massachusetts’ 2nd Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on September 1 by default, running unopposed. Lovvorn has posted the QAnon slogan on her Twitter and Facebook campaign accounts, along with a photo of a bell with the slogan on it.

Tracy Lovvorn Twitter QAnon

K.W. Miller (Florida)

K.W. Miller was an independent candidate who ran in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. Miller has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan “#WWG1WGA” and “#GreatAwakening” (along with a hashtag for the Pizzagate conspiracy theory). He has also posted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan on Facebook and repeatedly posted “#GreatAwakening” on Instagram. He also put up a Facebook ad in January promoting a campaign event featuring QAnon supporters Ann Vandersteel and KrisAnne Hall as special guests, and he has run multiple Facebook ads with the QAnon-connected hashtag “#GreatAwakening.”

K.W. Miller QAnon Twitter

Buzz Patterson (California)

Buzz Patterson was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 7th Congressional District. Patterson came in second in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3, which meant under California election law, he appeared on the ballot in November’s general election. On April 7, Patterson tweeted “yep” in response to a user asking if he “support[s] the Q movement.” Patterson has since told Axios “that he does not recall sending the tweet about the theory and does not ‘follow or endorse anything he/she/them say.’”

Buzz Patterson QAnon Twitter

Jo Rae Perkins (Oregon)

Jo Rae Perkins was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in Oregon (she was previously running in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District before switching races) and a former chair of the Linn County Republican Party. She had won the Republican primary on May 19. She has repeatedly tweeted in support of QAnon and posted the QAnon slogan on Twitter and both her personal and campaign Facebook pages. Perkins has also said she follows the “Q team.” Her activity has included pushing a “#QProof” (supposed evidence that “Q” posts are accurate), posting links on Facebook to multiple QAnon YouTube videos, and linking to a site that collects “Q” posts. She has also demanded that reporters ask Trump “the #Q,” referring to a belief among the conspiracy theory’s supporters that Trump would confirm “Q” as real if asked. Additionally, Perkins has posted a video of herself taking an oath supporting QAnon.

In a January 3 interview with Right Wing Watch’s Jared Holt (formerly of Media Matters) that she livestreamed and which featured a “WWG1WGA” sticker in the background, Perkins expanded upon her belief in QAnon, saying there is a “very strong probability/possibility that Q is a real group of people, military intelligence, working with President Trump” and compared the “Q” posts to secret codes used during World War II. Later in the interview, she claimed that “Q is most likely military intelligence ... and they've been out there watching what's been going on with our country for decades and they are partnered with President Trump to stop the corruption and to save our republic” and compared believing in “Q” to believing in Jesus Christ. Perkins also said her QAnon support is part of her campaign strategy and claimed that “there's a lot more people that are running for political office that follow Q than are admitting to it.”

Video file

Citation From a January 3, 2020, livestream on Jo Rae Perkins' Facebook page

Nikka Piterman (California)

Nikka Piterman was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 13th Congressional District. Piterman was one of the only two candidates who ran in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3, which meant under California election law, he appeared on the ballot in November’s general election. He has tweeted the QAnon hashtag and the QAnon slogan (misspelled).

Nikka Piterman QAnon Twitter

Billy Prempeh (New Jersey)

Billy Prempeh was a Republican candidate who ran in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on July 7. On his campaign Facebook page, Prempeh has posted a photo of himself next to a “Q” flag, writing out the QAnon slogan alongside it. He has also tweeted the QAnon slogan and mentioned in a YouTube interview that “Q” and “the Great Awakening” are “stuff that we've got going on right now.”

Billy Prempeh QAnon Facebook

Catherine Purcell (Delaware)

Catherine Purcell was an Independent Party of Delaware candidate who ran in Delaware’s At-Large Congressional District. Purcell’s campaign site featured the QAnon slogan, and she has repeatedly posted QAnon hashtags on her Facebook page. She has also posted a video on YouTube in which she recited a poem featuring a number of QAnon-related lines, such as “Q gives us all the facts about very real [Democratic National Committee] hacks,” “Democrats eat you for adrenochrome” -- a reference to a belief among QAnon followers that Democrats harvest that drug from people -- and “Pictures they keep coming — Q had them all along.”

Video file

Citation From a July 30, 2019, YouTube video

Christine Quinn (Florida)

Christine Quinn was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 14th Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on August 18. On October 3, Quinn tweeted the QAnon slogan and an image of a Q.

Christine Quinn QAnon Twitter

Theresa Raborn (Illinois)

Theresa Raborn was a Republican candidate who ran in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on March 17 by default, running unopposed. While quote-tweeting “AMEN AND CONGRATS” to a video of former national security adviser Michael Flynn giving an oath supporting QAnon, Raborn wrote the QAnon slogan. Raborn has since told The Washington Post that Flynn’s video endorsing QAnon made it appear more legitimate to her and “seemed to give a lot of validity to people who support me who also happen to follow Q.”

Theresa Raborn QAnon Twitter

Carla Spalding (Florida)

Carla Spalding was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on August 18. Spalding has tweeted the QAnon slogan.

Carla Spalding QAnon Twitter

Lavern Spicer (Florida)

Lavern Spicer was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 24th Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on August 18 by default, running unopposed. On Facebook, Spicer has more than once posted a link to a YouTube video called “Fall of Cabal,” which The New York Times noted was “core QAnon content” that “many QAnon believers have credited with spurring their interest” in the conspiracy theory.

Lavern Spicer QAnon Facebook

Angela Stanton-King (Georgia)

Angela Stanton-King was a Republican candidate who ran in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on June 9 by default, running unopposed. On Instagram, Stanton-King has posted a QAnon video from a well-known promoter of the conspiracy theory. She has also tweeted the QAnon slogan more than once, and she has tweeted, “We are the news now,” a phrase used by QAnon supporters (she has also pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory). Despite all of that, she has since denied to The Associated Press that she supports the conspiracy theory, claiming she posted the video as part of “questioning the movement” and that she used a QAnon hashtag in order to “extend her reach” on social media.

Angela Stanton-King Instagram QAnon

Johnny Teague (Texas)

Johnny Teague was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 9th Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on March 3. Teague on his campaign account has retweeted content explicitly promoting QAnon, including retweeting a video of QAnon supporters giving an oath supporting the conspiracy theory. He has also retweeted a false conspiracy theory pushed by some QAnon supporters that John F. Kennedy Jr. is secretly still alive despite dying in a plane crash, and he has tweeted a video from a QAnon account with a major following.

Johnny Teague QAnon Twitter1

Antoine Tucker (New York)

Antoine Tucker was a Republican who ran as a write-in candidate in New York’s 14th Congressional District, according to Ballotpedia. He has posted on Facebook and Instagram (where he goes by “Tony Montaga” and “Montaga,” respectively) an image of a “Q,” writing alongside the QAnon slogan, “What makes humans different from other Animals? We laugh, cry & we ASK QUESTIONS” and “#conspiracyfactsnottheories.” And on both platforms he has written that “Q” and QAnon supporters “want to investigate, seek the truth and remove those that are elected and committing crimes out of DC.” Tucker has since explicitly confirmed his support for QAnon.

Antoine Tucker QAnon Facebook

Kevin VanStory (Missouri)

Kevin VanStory was a Republican who ran as a write-in candidate in Missouri’s 7th Congressional District. He was defeated in the Republican primary on August 4 and subsequently launched a write-in campaign. VanStory has tweeted the QAnon slogan more than once, and has repeatedly invoked a belief among QAnon followers that Democrats harvest the drug adrenochrome from children.

Kevin VanStory QAnon Twitter

Rob Weber (Ohio)

Rob Weber was a Republican candidate who ran in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on April 28. On May 3, Weber quote-tweeted a QAnon account’s tweet featuring the QAnon slogan and hashtag and a video of someone saying the slogan. Weber wrote above the tweet, “Congrats on being ‘17’d,’” referring to “Q,” the 17th letter of the alphabet, and to “Q” linking to that tweet the day before (being “Q’d” is a term used by QAnon supporters to refer to being linked to by “Q”).

Rob Weber QAnon tweet

Philanise White (Illinois)

Philanise White was a Republican candidate who ran in Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. She had won the Republican primary on March 17 by default, running unopposed. She has tweeted the QAnon slogan more than once.

Philanise White QAnon Twitter

Lauren Witzke (Delaware)

Lauren Witzke was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in Delaware. She had won the Republican primary on September 15. Witzke has tweeted the QAnon slogan, including in response to another QAnon supporter who claimed that “nearly every patriot, Q follower, true news speaker and real investigative journalist is a believer in Jesus Christ” and said they were “encouraged by this great awakening.” Witzke has also worn a QAnon shirt. In January, Witzke told The Associated Press that QAnon is “mainstream psyops to get people to ‘trust the plan’ and not do anything” and is “more hype than substance.”

Witzke QAnon shirt

Daniel Wood (Arizona)

Daniel Wood was a Republican candidate who ran in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. He had won the Republican primary on August 4 by default, running unopposed. Wood has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan and tweeted the hashtag “#TheGreatAwakening.” He has also quote-tweeted a major QAnon account and the Twitter account for a QAnon YouTube channel. On Facebook, Wood has written “I do follow QAnon at times” because its supporters “believe in bringing power back to the people.”

Daniel Wood QAnon Twitter

Candidates who were no longer in race before general election

Anthony Aguero (Texas, lost primary)

Anthony Aguero was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 16th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. On one of his Facebook pages, Aguero has posted a QAnon video, and, in reference to a “Q” post, written, “Q says watch the water?  Why are there so many connections between celebrities and water companies?” He has also posted “#TheGreatAwakening” and “#GreatAwakening” on Parler and Instagram. And he has also pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory on Parler and both Pizzagate and a part of the QAnon conspiracy theory claiming that Democrats harvest adrenochrome from humans on Facebook.

Anthony Aguero QAnon Facebook2

Darren Aquino (Florida, lost primary)

Darren Aquino was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 18. He has tweeted the QAnon slogan.

Darren Aquino QAnon

Phil Arlinghaus (Tennessee, lost primary)

Phil Arlinghaus was a Republican candidate who ran in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 6. He has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan and has repeatedly posted it on Instagram, along with posting it on Facebook

Phil Arlinghaus QAnon Twitter

Mykel Barthelemy (Georgia, lost primary)

Mykel Barthelemy was a Republican candidate who ran in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on June 9. She has tweeted the QAnon slogan. On her personal Facebook page, Barthelemy has posted multiple QAnon memes and a promotion for a Facebook group called “QAnon RedPillers.” In March, she appeared on Patriots' Soapbox, where she said, “After the last four years of watching everything that's been going on -- the attacks and the deep state and the swamp rising up and -- I always knew they were there, but hey, everything that they said that was conspiracy has been proven to be true.” In 2018, she also commented on a fact check from Lead Stories debunking a falsehood that the FBI inspector general reported that Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring, writing, “So her noted crime against children is okay? THE FUDGE OUT OF HERE!”

Mykel Barthelemy Facebook QAnon3

Karen Bedonie (New Mexico, lost primary)

Karen Bedonie was a Republican candidate who ran in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on June 2. She has tweeted the QAnon slogan and the QAnon hashtag alongside a photo of a “Q” flag (calling it “qute”).

Karen Bedonie QAnon Twitter

Dan Belcher (Oklahoma, dropped out of race)

Dan Belcher was a Republican candidate who ran in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District and dropped out of the race in early February. Belcher has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and the QAnon slogan. At the end of his campaign launch video that he posted on social media, Belcher had the QAnon slogan under his campaign logo and even said the slogan out loud. His Twitter account has also posted graphics for his campaign featuring the slogan and a white rabbit, likely a reference to “follow the white rabbit,” another phrase used among QAnon supporters. His campaign Facebook page also posted “The Storm Is Upon Us,” a reference to a belief among QAnon supporters that Trump’s political enemies will be arrested and tried in military tribunals.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to Dan Belcher's Facebook page in August 2019

Additionally, Belcher has run multiple Facebook ads featuring the QAnon slogan (including his announcement video where he says the slogan out loud), which have received thousands of impressions combined, according to Facebook’s ad library.

Dan Belcher QAnon Facebook ads1

Dion Bergeron (Indiana, lost primary)

Dion Bergeron was a Republican candidate who ran in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on June 2, and later ran for the Indiana House of Representatives. On March 15, Bergeron accepted an endorsement from a QAnon super PAC while tweeting the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan. On his campaign Facebook page, he wrote that his “license plate says THANQ on the Indiana 'In God We Trust' plate,” and there “are stickers that proclaim Where We Go One, We Go All” on the side windows of his car. He also called Jim Watkins, the owner of 8chan/8kun who helped create the super PAC and has previously signaled support for QAnon, a “patriot.”

Dion Bergeron QAnon Twitter

Michael Bluemling (Florida, dropped out of race)

Michael Bluemling was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 21st Congressional District and dropped out of the race in April. Bluemling has tweeted the hashtag “#Q” and other hashtags associated with “TheStorm,” another reference to the QAnon conspiracy theory. He has also endorsed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

Michael Bluemling Twitter QAnon

Vance Boyd (Texas, lost primary)

Vance Boyd was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 19th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. In response to NBC News and CNBC reports about Facebook’s announcements that it would take action against the spread of QAnon on its platforms, Boyd tweeted, “Truth will not be tolerated,” and claimed that “you cannot cancel truth,” adding the QAnon slogan.

Vance Boyd QAnon Twitter

Jeremy Bravo (Texas, dropped out of race)

Jeremy Bravo was an independent candidate who ran in Texas’ 31st Congressional District and has since dropped out, according to Ballotpedia. On Instagram, Bravo has repeatedly posted “#Q,” sometimes next to images of John F. Kennedy Jr. -- possibly a reference to a false conspiracy theory pushed by some QAnon supporters that Kennedy is secretly still alive and working alongside Trump despite dying in a plane crash decades ago. Bravo has also tweeted that “‘Q’s’ watching.”

Jeremy Bravo QAnon Instagram

Jeremy Brown (Florida, dropped out of race)

Jeremy Brown was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 14th Congressional District and dropped out of the race on March 5. Brown has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan and features the slogan in his Twitter profile. In November, he tweeted, “Since concluding my research into #QAnon & #TheGreatAwakening, last week I announced I too am a part of #WWG1WGA” (“#TheGreatAwakening” is a QAnon-connected hashtag). He has also tweeted an image of an apparent “Q” neon sign and wondered if “#TheGreatAwakening hit Tampa,” and he attended a January 11 rally in Tampa supporting QAnon.

Jeremy Brown tweet QAnon

Jamie Byers (California, lost primary)

Jamie Byers was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 4th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. He has tweeted the QAnon slogan at Trump.

Jamie Byers QAnon Twitter

Catherine Carr (Texas, lost primary)

Catherine Carr was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 13th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on March 3. On the Twitter accounts listed as hers on her now-defunct campaign site, Carr tweeted a QAnon video, calling it “a must see,” and tweeted that “Q says that the virus has been here for a while and they were using it to take down the presidents good good works and that it was spoken about in 2018 and excetera.” Carr has also repeatedly pushed a part of the QAnon conspiracy theory that claims that Democrats “drink adrenochrome and sacrifice children.”

Catherine Carr QAnon Twitter

Mark Cavener (Arizona, dropped out of race)

Mark Cavener was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in Arizona and who dropped out of the race before the primary. His campaign site featured the QAnon slogan.

Mark Cavener QAnon

Rob Chase (Washington, dropped out of race)

Rob Chase was a Republican candidate who ran in Washington’s 5th Congressional District. He dropped out before the primary, according to Ballotpedia. According to The Pacific Northwest Inlander, Chase on Facebook has “repeatedly directed followers to check out QAnon posts or podcasts, writing in January that ‘Q is posting again. This will be a week to remember,’ and in April that ‘Q is all hopped up tonight.’” The outlet also reported that Chase has posted the QAnon slogan and wrote a blog post that described QAnon as part of a “‘battle that's been going on at least a few hundred years’ with ‘patriots’ like Trump trying to thwart ‘an ongoing plan by the Deep State to destroy America, because that is the only way they can establish a Global New World Order.’” Chase also told the outlet that he was “intrigued” by QAnon and “open to it,” though “he doesn't consider himself an outright QAnon supporter” despite his previous comments.

Rob Chase QAnon Facebook

Brandon Cook (Wisconsin, disqualified)

Brandon Cook was a Republican candidate who ran in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. He was disqualified from the Republican primary, according to Ballotpedia. Cook has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan, and in response to Twitter’s July announcement that it would take action against the spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory on the platform, he tweeted, “Well this should tell you everything you need to know. QAnon is as real as it gets people.”

Brandon Cook QAnon Twitter

Roy Cope (Tennessee, lost primary)

Roy Cope was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. He was defeated in the primary on August 6. Cope ran a Facebook ad that included the QAnon slogan and a video of him saying the slogan, which also included the text: “Patriots Where We Go One We Go All.”

Roy Cope QAnon Facebook ad

Ignacio Cruz (California, lost primary)

Ignacio Cruz was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 19th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. Cruz has posted the QAnon slogan on his personal Facebook page (while sharing a “satirical” story about Rep. Ilhan Omar) and multiple times on his campaign Facebook page. He also ran a Facebook ad including the slogan. Cruz has also posted QAnon images.

Ignacio Cruz Facebook ad QAnon

Logan Cunningham (South Carolina, dropped out of race)

Logan Cunningham was a Republican candidate who ran in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. He dropped out before the primary. Cunningham has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan and has tweeted “#GreatAwakening.”

Logan Cunningham QAnon Twitter

Vic DeGrammont (Florida, lost primary)

Vic DeGrammont was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 20th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 18. DeGrammont has the hashtag “#Q” in his Twitter profile, and he has also repeatedly tweeted “#Q” and used the QAnon slogan.

Vic DeGrammont Twitter profile

James Dickens (Hawaii, lost primary)

James Dickens was a Republican candidate who also ran in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 8. On his Instagram account, he has multiple times written out the QAnon slogan, has repeatedly posted the slogan’s abbreviated hashtag, and has also posted the spinoff hashtag “#wwg1wgaworldwide.” Dickens’ campaign Facebook account also included the QAnon slogan in a Facebook ad, and he has posted the slogan on his personal Facebook account as well. Dickens has additionally tweeted a video of himself taking an oath supporting QAnon.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to Twitter on July 31, 2020

Billy Earley (California, lost primary)

Billy Earley was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 44th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. Earley has tweeted the QAnon slogan and posted multiple QAnon videos on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Billy Earley QAnon video3 Twitter

Melissa Esparza-Mathis (Texas, lost primary)

Melissa Esparza-Mathis was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 8th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on March 3. Esparza-Mathis has tweeted the QAnon slogan (misspelled) via a Twitter account that is listed as belonging to her on a conservative group’s website (which also has a questionnaire she filled out for the organization). The Twitter account has since been suspended, though images preserved on Google Images also suggest it tweeted explicit QAnon memes.

Melissa Esparza-Mathis QAnon Twitter

Tim Fazenbaker (Maryland, lost primary)

Tim Fazenbaker was a Republican candidate who ran in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on June 2. He has tweeted the QAnon hashtag.

Tim Fazenbaker QAnon Twitter

David Fegan (Texas, lost primary)

David Fegan was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 24th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. On July 4, he tweeted that Trump “leads our #Q movement.”

David Fegan QAnon Twitter

Elizabeth Felton (Florida, lost primary)

Elizabeth Felton was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 21st Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 18. On Felton’s TikTok account, she has posted a video with “#Q” and “#qanonarmy” in the caption along with hashtags pushing the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to TikTok on July 31, 2020

Tricia Flanagan (New Jersey, lost primary)

Tricia Flanagan was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey. She was defeated in the primary on July 7. She has tweeted “ThanQ” in response to a QAnon account promoting her candidacy alongside the conspiracy theory.

Tricia Flanagan QAnon Twitter

Ari Friedman (Ohio)

Ari Friedman (also known as Harry Bacharach) was a Democratic candidate who ran in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, according to cleveland.com. The status of his campaign before the general election was unclear, as his Twitter account had been suspended and his campaign site was also down. He has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan (including tweeting a video of himself playing a pro-Trump song with the QAnon slogan). He has also pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, along with defending anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to the Twitter account of Ari Friedman on November 13, 2019

Rhonda Furin (California, lost primary)

Rhonda Furin was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 45th Congressional District. She was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. Furin has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan, along with posting it on her campaign and personal Facebook pages.

Rhonda Furin Twitter QAnon

Ben Gibson (Louisiana)

Ben Gibson was a Republican candidate who ran in Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on November 3. Gibson has posted a Facebook ad with the QAnon hashtag, and he has posted the hashtag on his campaign Facebook page and multiple times on his personal page.

Ben Gibson QAnon Facebook ad

Thomas Gilmer (Connecticut, dropped out of race)

Thomas Gilmer was a Republican candidate who ran in Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District. Gilmer technically dropped out of the race before the primary following being arrested, though he remained on the primary ballot; he subsequently was defeated in the primary on August 11. He has tweeted the QAnon hashtag more than once and on Instagram has repeatedly posted the QAnon slogan. On Facebook, he posted a link to a post on the new forum for the subreddit “r/The_Donald,” which featured a YouTube video from a QAnon account with a major following.

Thomas Gilmer QAnon Twitter

Sammy Gindi (New Jersey, lost primary)

Sammy Gindi was a Republican candidate who ran as a write-in candidate in the primary in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on July 7. Gindi has tweeted the QAnon slogan and another QAnon hashtag, “#QSentMe.” He has also posted the QAnon hashtag and “#q” on Instagram.

Sammy Gindi QAnon Twitter

Nicholas Gladden (Maryland, lost primary)

Nicholas Gladden was a Republican candidate who ran in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on June 2. On July 23, he tweeted the hashtag “QAnons,” along with “#movement” and #wakeup.”

Nicholas Gladden QAnon Twitter

Reba Hawkins (Maryland, lost primary)

Reba Hawkins was a Republican candidate who ran in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on June 2. Hawkins has tweeted more than once the QAnon hashtag and a misspelled version of the QAnon slogan, along with other QAnon hashtags like “#QArmy” and “#QIsReal.”

Reba Hawkins QAnon Twitter

Winnie Heartstrong (Missouri, lost primary)

Winnie Heartstrong was a Republican candidate who ran in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 4. While appearing on a QAnon podcast in July, Heartstrong was asked if she follows the conspiracy theory, and in response she called QAnon “very clever” and a “perfect way to deal with a very ... diffusive evil.” Heartstrong added that “there's really a Q movement behind me, and I welcome that,” saying, “Whoever you are, wherever you are, I salute you, I thank you, and I pray for your protection.” While pushing a false conspiracy theory about George Floyd’s killing, Heartstrong has also tweeted “#ThankQ,” and she has praised an explicitly QAnon-supporting account (an account she seemed to give a specific shoutout to in the podcast).

Winnie Heartstrong QAnon interview

Winnie Heartstrong QAnon interview
Audio file

Citation From the July 5 edition of the Humorous Mathematics podcast

Nellie Heiskell (Texas, lost primary)

Nellie “Truly” Heiskell was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 18th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on March 3. On Twitter and Facebook, Heiskell has posted videos from QAnon supporters with major followings, and has mentioned QAnon explicitly while doing so.

Nellie Heiskell QAnon Twitter

Rich Helms (Texas, dropped out of race)

Rich Helms was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 33rd Congressional District. He dropped out before the primary, according to Ballotpedia. Helms has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan, including one time directly in response to a tweet about a “Q” post, and he has also retweeted a post about his candidacy containing another slogan connected to QAnon, “#TheGreatAwakening.”

Rich Helms QAnon Twitter

Gary Heyer (Minnesota, dropped out of race)

Gary Heyer was an independent candidate who ran in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District. He dropped out of the race, according to Ballotpedia, and later ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives as a Republican. Heyer, a delegate at the 2012 Republican National Convention, called himself an “Independent #QPlan Candidate” in his Twitter profile. In December, he tweeted a video of himself apparently outside of a church and next to a sign with “Q” on it, saying he was “inviting all of the churchgoers to partake in the great awakening.” He also added the QAnon slogan and tagged other QAnon accounts in that tweet.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to Gary Heyer's Twitter account on December 22, 2019

Bobby Jeffries (Pennsylvania, dropped out of race)

Bobby Jeffries was a Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District but dropped out on January 11, according to The York Dispatch; he then ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives but dropped out of that race as well. He has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan and tweeted in 2018, “#QAnon for the win!”

Bobby Jeffries QAnon tweet

Patrice Kimbler (California, lost primary)

Patrice Kimbler was a Republican candidate who also ran in California’s 36th Congressional District. She was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. She has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan, including quote-tweeting a major QAnon account.

Patrice Kimbler QAnon Twitter

Peter Liu (California, lost primary)

Peter Liu was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 15th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. Liu has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan.

Peter Liu QAnon Twitter

Matthew Lusk (Florida, dropped out of race)

Matthew Lusk was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 5th Congressional District and has since dropped out of the race, according to Ballotpedia. Lusk has tweeted multiple QAnon videos and had an “issue” page on his campaign site specifically called “Q” featuring the text “who is Q.” Lusk also appeared in a video on NBC News about his support for QAnon, which he demonstrated partly by including a “Q” on the back of his campaign signs. 

Lusk has expanded upon his belief in QAnon in multiple interviews. He told the Florida Politics blog, “Q is one of my issues because it’s definitely a leak from high places.” In an interview with The Daily Beast, Lusk said that posts from “Q” are a “legitimate something” and that they are a “very articulate screening of past events, a very articulate screening of present conditions, and a somewhat prophetic divination of where the political and geopolitical ball will be bouncing next.” And in an interview with NBC News, Lusk said “Q” is “like an advanced news warning,” adding that “it might come out in the mainstream media a week or two weeks later. So I think there's a lot of inside sources, whoever this person is.”

Matthew Lusk QAnon campaign site

Andy Martin (New Hampshire, lost primary)

Andy Martin was a Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. He was defeated in the Republican primary on September 8. In a press release claiming he was “not a supporter of QAnon,” Martin also called QAnon a “rapidly organizing movement that could form the initial citizens’ resistance to the Democrats if President Trump is defeated for reelection” and a “coherent belief system” for which there was “a factual basis.” He also announced in another press release that he would “take the Digital Soldier Oath,” referring to an oath supporting QAnon.

Andy Martin QAnon

Elizabeth Matory (Maryland, lost primary)

Elizabeth Matory was a Republican candidate who ran in Maryland's 7th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary for a special election in the district on February 4, and she was defeated in the primary for the general election on June 2. She has tweeted the QAnon slogan more than once.

Elizabeth Matory QAnon Twitter

Andrew Meehan (Pennsylvania, lost primary)

Andrew Meehan was a Republican candidate who ran in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on June 2. On May 22, he tweeted the QAnon hashtag while quote-tweeting a post calling him a “QAnon supporter.” That tweet also featured a video of Meehan saying, “I definitely follow the Q movement,” as a man wearing a QAnon shirt stands behind him.

Video file

Citation From a video posted on Twitter in May 2020

Jessi Melton (Florida, lost primary)

Jessi Melton was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 18. On February 13, Melton made an appearance on the YouTube channel of InTheMatrixxx, a major QAnon account whose channel is devoted to the conspiracy theory. Melton promoted her appearance on her Twitter account by mentioning the “Q movement.” During her appearance, one of the hosts asked if “you know about QAnon yet,” to which Melton responded, “Yeah, a little bit about you guys. I mean, I know you’re kind of just similar to me. I mean, you call it like you see it. And a lot of that are supposed to be things we don’t speak of.” The hosts then discussed a “Q” post with her regarding Attorney General William Barr. Melton also lauded the channel as a “pro-republic show” that is getting “awareness out there,” and discussed having the hosts appear at one of her fundraisers. In June, Melton had one of the hosts at an event of hers and quote-tweeted his post showing a photo of them together, writing, “Thanks for coming my friend.”

Video file

Citation From a February 13, 2020, livestream on the IntheMatrixxx YouTube channel

James Mitchell (Washington, lost primary)

James Mitchell was a Democratic candidate who ran in Washington’s 8th Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on August 4. Mitchell, who in March posted that he was going to “look further” into QAnon, has tweeted the QAnon hashtag and has repeatedly posted the QAnon slogan on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. He has also promoted a false conspiracy theory pushed by QAnon supporters that children in New York City were being rescued via tunnels and saved from sex trafficking. He has also repeatedly pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and posted on YouTube a video airing anti-vaccine claims from a discredited conspiracy theorist.

James Mitchell QAnon

Michael Moates (Texas, dropped out of race)

Michael Moates was a Libertarian candidate who ran in Texas’ 26th Congressional District but dropped out, according to a January 10 Daily Beast article. Moates, a conservative writer who has previously spread falsehoods, suggested support for QAnon in a series of since-deleted tweets in 2018, according to Right Wing Watch. Using the QAnon hashtag, Moates urged people to “keep an eye on” QAnon and wrote that his “goal in life is to ask POTUS about” it. Moates later that year was accused of sending inappropriate messages to several underage women. Moates has also since been suspended from Twitter, and he launched another account for his campaign, violating Twitter’s ban-evasion rules (his new account has since been suspended).

C. Wesley Morgan (Kentucky, lost primary)

C. Wesley Morgan was a Republican candidate and a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives who ran for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. He was defeated in the primary on June 23. On both his Twitter and personal Facebook accounts, Morgan has posted in response to a QAnon account defending the conspiracy theory, “You are 100% correct in your assessment of Q. We know the truth and the truth will set us free,” and then added the QAnon slogan. He has repeatedly posted the QAnon slogan on both his personal and campaign Facebook pages, along with repeatedly posting videos from a QAnon YouTube channel.

Wesley Morgan QAnon Twitter post1

Matthew Morris (Delaware, lost primary)

Matthew Morris was a Republican candidate running in Delaware’s At-Large Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on September 15. In August, Morris quote-tweeted a QAnon account criticizing Fox News contributor Ari Flesicher for calling QAnon supporters “wackadoodles,” writing, “What’s funny, is they’ve been right all along.” Morris has also tweeted that he saw a message written on a back of a semitruck urging people to “follow” a QAnon account, which he tagged in the tweet, adding the QAnon slogan.

Matthew Morris QAnon Twitter

Nick Moutos (Texas, lost primary)

Nick Moutos was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 35th Congressional District; he was also previously a prosecutor in the Texas Attorney General’s office. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. In response to Twitter’s announcement that it would take action against the spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory on the platform, Moutos tweeted, “#Q must be getting close to #OutingYou as a #Pedophile or #ChildTrafficker or perhaps involved with #PizzaGate.” He has also retweeted content explicitly supporting QAnon, including a video of another congressional candidate taking an oath supporting QAnon.

Nick Moutos QAnon Twitter

Omar Navarro (California, lost primary)

Omar Navarro was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 43rd Congressional District. He was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. Navarro has tweeted the QAnon slogan and pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

Omar Navarro QAnon Twitter

Thomas Nelson (Alaska, lost primary)

Thomas “John” Nelson was a Republican candidate who ran in Alaska’s At-Large Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 18. Nelson has tweeted the QAnon slogan more than once, including while quote-tweeting a major QAnon account.

Thomas Nelson QAnon Twitter

Sam Peters (Nevada, lost primary)

Sam Peters was a Republican candidate who ran in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on June 9. He has tweeted the QAnon hashtag “#QArmy.”

Sam Peters QAnon Twitter

Mark Pitrone (Ohio, lost primary)

Mark Pitrone was a Republican candidate who ran in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on April 28. On Facebook, Pitrone has posted a link to a YouTube video promoting QAnon from JoeM, a QAnon account with a major following. He has also posted that there is “some speculation that [John F. Kennedy Jr.] faked his death and is now known as 'Q'anon.”

Mark Pitrone QAnon Facebook1

Mindy Robinson (Nevada, lost primary)

Mindy Robinson was a Republican candidate who ran in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on June 9. She has posted the QAnon slogan (misspelled) on Twitter and Facebook (she has since explicitly confirmed her QAnon support). Last June, she tweeted a video from a QAnon account pushing a false claim about author and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after Carroll reported that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. Her tweet was then shared by Donald Trump Jr. She also has pushed a conspiracy theory about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg and was a major amplifier of a hashtag for the “Clinton body count” conspiracy theory after Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

Mindy Robinson QAnon Twitter

Kristen Alamo Rowin (Texas, lost primary)

Kristen Alamo Rowin was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 17th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on March 3. On April 12, she tweeted the QAnon slogan and “#Q.”

Kristen Alamo Rowin QAnon Twitter

David Schuster (Tennessee, lost primary)

David Schuster was a Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. He was defeated in the primary on August 6. In a survey Schuster completed for Ballotpedia, he wrote the QAnon slogan, which he has also tweeted more than once. In 2017, Schuster posted a YouTube video on his Facebook account titled “Did President Trump Endorse Q Info on Secret Indictments of Pedophile Network,” urging people to “listen to this.” And on YouTube, Schuster in May posted a video where he said, “I do like Q. I do like to follow it.” He then said the QAnon slogan.

Video file

Citation From a video David Schuster posted to YouTube in May 2020

Christine Scott (Florida, disqualified)

Christine Scott was a Republican candidate who ran in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. She was forced to drop out of the race due to being disqualified from the primary, according to Ballotpedia. The homepage of her campaign website featured the QAnon slogan.

Christine Scott website QAnon

Dan Severson (Florida, lost primary)

Dan Severson was a Republican candidate and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who ran in Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 18. Severson has tweeted the QAnon slogan.

Dan Severson QAnon Twitter

Reba Sherrill (Florida, lost primary)

Reba Sherrill was a Republican candidate who also ran in Florida’s 21st Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 18. In a YouTube video, a QAnon supporter interviewed Sherrill about attending a Florida QAnon “Great Awakening” rally, during which she said, “I've been following Q since the beginning.” She also tweeted “thanQ” in response to the person who uploaded the video.

Video file

Citation From a video uploaded to YouTube on February 26, 2020

Danielle Stella (Minnesota, lost primary)

Danielle Stella was a Republican candidate who ran in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 11. Stella has repeatedly posted in support of QAnon, worn QAnon apparel, and shared QAnon videos. An apparent aide for Stella told Right Wing Watch that Stella “stands 100% behind the principles of patriotism, unity/inclusiveness (WWG1WGA!) and love for country that Qanon promotes,” although a former campaign staffer dubiously told The Daily Beast that Stella's support for QAnon was “a ruse” to get support. Yet Stella is also a member of a small QAnon group on Telegram, where she has posted about being in a “#QArmy” and praised her “Qfamily.” Stella has also endorsed another baseless conspiracy theory originating from 4chan that accused who would have been her opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), of hiring a hitman to assassinate a woman. Stella was later banned from Twitter for suggesting that Omar be hung for treason.

Stella Telegram QAnon

Darlene Swaffar (Florida, lost primary)

Darlene Swaffar was a Republican candidate who also ran in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 18. Swaffar has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan, including in a bizarre claim about Trump’s tweets and the life of Benjamin Franklin being related to “Q” as “the 17th letter of the alphabet.” On her personal Facebook page -- whose intro section also includes the QAnon slogan -- Swaffar has posted multiple QAnon memes. Swaffar has also posted a video of herself taking an oath supporting QAnon. In April 2019, Swaffar wrote on a Facebook page called “QAnon Great Awakening” that the page’s posts about QAnon “have inspired me to explore my run for Congress in 2020” and claimed she had “already met with the Republican party in South Florida and have received their endorsement, as well as endorsement from three other major organizations.”

Darlene Swaffar QAnon Facebook page

DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero (California, lost primary)

DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 12th Congressional District. She was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. She has repeatedly tweeted about QAnon and the QAnon slogan, including tweeting about QAnon to a major QAnon account. In a since-deleted tweet, she also wrote that “Q is real.” In an interview discussing “Q” with The Daily Beast, Tesoriero said, “I wouldn’t say that I believed in him or the group or anything, but I do believe in some of the issues that he discusses.” She has also expressed support for the Pizzagate conspiracy theory but declined to confirm that support to The Daily Beast.

DeAnne Lorraine Tesoriero QAnon Twitter

Jimmy Tillman (Illinois, dropped out of race)

Jimmy Tillman was a Republican candidate who ran in Illinois’ 1st Congressional District and dropped out of the race before the primary. In a video that was uploaded as part of a Facebook ad from another candidate, he led a crowd in a cheer for the QAnon slogan, including mentioning “all my Anons,” likely a reference to QAnon supporters or to users of the chan message board sites where Q has been based.

Video file

Citation From a Facebook ad uploaded on July 27, 2020

Nicholas Vessio (Florida, lost primary)

Nicholas Vessio was a Republican candidate who also ran in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on August 18. He has tweeted, “Q , when is HRC and company going to GISMO to be Hung !”

Nicholas Vessio QAnon Twitter

Steve Von Loor (North Carolina, lost primary)

Steve Von Loor was a Republican candidate who ran in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. He has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan.

Steve Von Loor Twitter QAnon

Justine Wadsack (Arizona, dropped out of race)

Justine Wadsack was a Republican candidate who ran in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District and dropped out before the primary, according to Ballotpedia, and she later ran for the Arizona State Senate. As The Daily Dot has reported, Wadsack has tweeted and written out the QAnon slogan more than once.

Justine Wadsack QAnon Twitter

Joe Walz (Texas, lost primary)

Joe Walz was a Republican candidate who ran in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District. He was defeated in the primary on March 3. He has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan.

Joe Walz QAnon Twitter

Nichole Williams (Tennessee, lost primary)

Nichole Williams was a Republican candidate who also ran in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District. She was defeated in the primary on August 6. She has tweeted the QAnon hashtag and repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan along with the hashtag “#wearethenewsnow,” a phrase commonly used by QAnon supporters. On Facebook, Williams has posted some of the same hashtags, along with the hashtag “#Q.”

Nichole Williams Facebook page2

Samuel Williams (Texas, lost primary)

Samuel Williams was a Republican candidate who also ran in Texas’ 16th Congressional District. Williams came in first in the primary on March 3 with a plurality, but then was defeated in the primary runoff on July 14. Williams has tweeted the QAnon hashtag and repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan. He has also run a Facebook ad promoting an appearance in January on Patriots' Soapbox, where he appealed for financial support for his campaign. Despite all of that, Williams has since denied to Texas Monthly that he supports the conspiracy theory, claiming he thought it “was just a bunch of crap” that “doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” and said that he used QAnon hashtags “to gain followers” on social media.

Samuel Williams Patriots Soapbox

Joanne Wright (California, lost primary)

Joanne Wright was a Republican candidate who ran in California’s 34th Congressional District; she was the only Republican running in the district. She was defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary on March 3. On Wright’s personal Twitter account, her background photo is a picture of Trump pulling up a curtain to show a “Q.” She has also tweeted a QAnon video and repeatedly tweeted the QAnon slogan. Wright, who was endorsed by the California Republican Party, has also pushed conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and the late Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.

Joanne Wright Twitter1

Correction (2/13/20): This piece originally said Ignacio Cruz ran in California’s 39th Congressional District; he actually ran in the state’s 19th Congressional District.

Correction (8/12/20): This piece originally stated Josh Barnett is running in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District; he’s actually running in the state’s 7th Congressional District.

Correction (8/26/20): This piece accidentally mentioned Elizabeth Felton and her district in the section for Jessi Melton.

Correction (9/18/20): This piece originally referred to a third party in Delaware as the “Independence Party of Delaware”; it is actually called the Independent Party of Delaware.