Joe Kent, who lost the 2022 race for Washington’s third congressional district — and who is best remembered for comparing abortion to slavery, calling for a national abortion ban, vehement 2020 election denialism, appearing on neo-Nazi podcasts, and claiming the FBI was “in on” the Trump assassination attempt — is set to take the debate stage tonight.
“This is one of the last debates where Joe Kent will have the opportunity to lie to voters about his support for a national abortion ban, refuse to answer if he thought the 2020 election was stolen, and downplay the extremism he would undoubtedly bring to Congress,” said American Bridge spokesperson Philip Shulman. “Joe Kent can regurgitate DC consultant talking points all he wants, but voters know he’s an anti-abortion, democracy-undermining extremist.”
Here’s what you need to know about Joe Kent:
Is dangerously anti-abortion:
- In 2022, Kent answered “none” when asked under what circumstances abortion should be legal.
- Kent repeatedly compared abortion to slavery.
- In July of 2022, Kent stated he was in favor of a national abortion ban, but then reversed course in January of 2024.
- Kent deleted mentions of abortion from his website.
Has a deep affinity for white nationalists:
- He appeared on a podcast hosted by a neo-Nazi where he said “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with there being a white people special interest group.”
- He came to the defense of infamous white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who at one point was involved with one of Kent’s campaign strategy calls.
- Kent gave an interview to Nazi sympathizer and white nationalist Greyson Arnold, who also attended a campaign fundraiser and primary victory party.
- It was also reported that Kent attended and spoke at a rally hosted by the Washington State Three Percenters, an anti-government extremist group.
Thinks January 6th was an “intelligence operation” by the US government:
- Kent claimed people wanted the government to admit being involved in the January 6th riots.
- He also called those involved with the insurrection who were arrested “political prisoners.”
- Kent said “we must fully adjudicate the presidential election of 2020.”
- Kent attended an election-denier conference and signed onto a lawsuit baselessly claiming that more than 400,000 ballots were tampered with in Washington State.
Is no friend to older Americans:
- In 2022, Kent declared he wanted to raise the Social Security retirement age, only to backtrack in 2024.
- During the COVID pandemic, Kent fear-mongered and discouraged people, including older Americans, not to get the vaccine by calling it “experimental gene therapy.”
- Kent claimed Dr. Anthony Fauci should be held accountable on murder charges.
Published: Oct 17, 2024 | Last Modified: Oct 20, 2024