Once again, Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, faces Republican challenger Mike Cargile in the 35th Congressional District. The district spans parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
In 2020, Torres defeated Cargile with nearly 70% of the vote. In 2022, the results narrowed down a bit, with Torres getting over 57% of the vote. Things are unlikely to be much different this time around, although in the last primary Torres had to fend off a challenge from his left.
As of this writing, Torres has received just over 48% of the vote, compared to 39.5% of the vote for Cargile and the remainder for the remaining candidates.
What’s most unfortunate about this particular race is the fact that Mike Cargile is not a run-of-the-mill Republican.
“The United States is run by a satanic cabal of human traffickers and pedophile predators, working in conjunction with other world leaders to establish a One World Order. I will do everything in my power to oppose this,” he told Grid News (since acquired by The Messenger) in 2022.
Yes, Mike Cargile is a full-fledged QAnoner.
As Los Angeles Magazine reported in 2020, Cargile’s social media has also included more explicit links to the QAnon conspiracy, including hashtags like #WWG1WGA used by supporters of the conspiracy theory.
If you haven’t heard of QAnon, that’s probably for the best. This is basically what Carrière said in 2022, but it also often involves not only satanic pedophiles, but also cannibals, who hold high positions in government and are the ones who undermined former President Donald Trump.
Having someone with completely outlandish ideas be the Republican Party’s representative on the ballot anywhere is bad enough. This reflects the small pool of candidates the GOP has to work with in California.
But it also puts conservative voters who likely don’t share Cargile’s conspiratorial worldview in a position where many tacitly approve of Cargile as a candidate simply because he has an “R” next to his name on the ballot. vote.
Candidates like Cargile are representative of the state of California’s weakened and devalued civic culture.
As this editorial board has recommended in the past, voters in the district must reject Cargile and demand better from the conservative movement.
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