Jordan backs QAnon candidate

SANDUSKY — Jumping into a national controversy, a northern Ohio Congressman has endorsed a Republican candidate in Georgia who has repeatedly voice support for QAnon conspiracy theories. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, has endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene, a candidate in Georgia's 14th U.S. House District. Greene won her GOP primary, defeating John Cowan, and is expected to win her race in the general election. The QAnon conspiracy theory, promulgated by "Q," purportedly a person with access to classified information, claims that President Donald Trump has been under attack by a "deep state" plot. Some of the claims include allegations that Satan-worshipping Democratic politicians and famous movie actors are part of an international child sex trafficking ring, and that Trump has been secretly battling the plot. The claims have been widely criticized; Twitter has banned many QAnon-affiliated accounts and Facebook has attempted to restrict QAnon messaging. Greene has repeatedly endorsed QAnon, saying that QAnon theories are "worth listening to" and telling supporters "Q is a patriot." More recently, however, Greene told Fox News that she is not a QAnon candidate and has stopped talking about QAnon. "I was just one of those people, just like millions of other Americans, that just started looking at other information," Greene said. "And so, yeah, there was a time there for a while that I had read about Q, posted about it, talked about it, which is some of these videos you've seen come out. But once I started finding misinformation, I decided that I would choose another path." Greene said her campaign was never about QAnon and said she's been unfairly attacked. "But I don't expect a lot of the left-leaning media to change their stance," she said. "I think they're going to continue to attack me because they actually do see me as someone who's unapologetically conservative." Trump, asked about QAnon in a Wednesday press conference, said he doesn't know much about it, "other than I understand they like me very much." "I heard that these are people that love our country," he said. Vice President Mike Pence said on CNN Friday that it's unfortunate the news media "chases after shiny objects" and said he's not interested in "spending time on a major network to talk about some conspiracy online theory." He then clarified, "I don't know anything about QAnon, and I dismiss it out of hand." A commercial for Greene touting Jordan's endorsement, available on YouTube, begins with Jordan shaking hands with President Donald Trump and then quotes Jordan's endorsement of Greene. "Marjorie Greene is exactly the kind of fighter needed in Washington to stand with me against the radical left and ally with President Trump to take on Nancy Pelosi and drain the swamp," Jordan says. Jordan's commercial states that Greene is "100 percent" pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun and pro-Trump. According to OpenSecrets.org, Greene's largest campaign contribution is the $75,635 she has received from the House Freedom Fund, an organization closely associated with Jordan. Jordan apparently has said little or nothing about QAnon; a Google search for "QAnon" and "Jim Jordan" uncovers little besides references to his support for Greene. The Sandusky Register sought to interview Jordan, but he did not respond to a phone call placed to his Norwalk office. His spokesman, Russell Dye, did not respond to emails. Jordan is generally unresponsive to questions that are outside prepared talking points, which often are hyperbolic. Jordan's Democratic opponent in the November race for the Fourth U.S. House District, Shannon Freshour, told the Register Friday it's unfortunate but not surprising Jordan backs a candidate associated with QAnon. "Jim Jordan traffics in conspiracy theories all the time," Freshour said. "He still thinks Russian attacking our country is a hoax and he shouldn't be forced to wear a mask." "We are in the middle of a global pandemic surrounded by economic collapse," Freshour said. "We don't have time to play fantasy games." Freshour also said that when Trump criticized Goodyear, Jordan sided with Trump, despite the fact Goodyear is a major employer in Ohio. It's a good example of how Jordan no longer bothers to represent his district, Freshour said.