A missouri candidate For Governor with report connection to the ku klux klan A state judge has ruled that he can remain on the ballot despite efforts by his own party to oust him.
The state’s Republican Party filed a lawsuit to stop Darrell McClanahan from appearing on GOP Primary voting this August. missouri The GOP initially accepted him into the party, but later denounced him after photographs emerged of Mr. McClanahan giving the Nazi salute. associated Press Report.
On Friday, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker ruled that he can run for governor.
Dave Rowland, a lawyer for Mr. McClanahan, said the ruling ensures that party leaders no longer have “nearly unlimited discretion to choose who will be allowed on the primary ballot.” Guardian,
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the candidate also has ties to the KKK. Organization Said In 2022 that Mr. McClanahan adheres to the religious sect Christian Identity, which espouses racist and anti-Semitic beliefs and is heavily influenced by the KKK. Mr. McClanahan later filed a lawsuit against organization for their 2022 article but their case was rejected.
According to the ADL, Mr McClanahan also posted a membership card in 2019 for the League of the South, a white supremacy group that advocates desegregation of the southern US.
This is not the first time any candidate is competing for the post. Mr. McClanahan ran in the state’s U.S. Senate primary in 2022. He lost by getting less than 1 percent of the votes.
The gubernatorial candidate described himself as “pro-white” but rejected the ADL’s claims that he was racist or anti-Semitic. He also said he never joined the KKK, claiming he only received a one-year “honorary membership”.
He will face several primary challenges this summer as Republican Gov. Mike Parson serves his final term in office.
Another far-right GOP candidate in Missouri also sparked controversy this week, Valentina Gomez, who is running for Missouri secretary of state, posted a video on Sunday insulting the LGBTQ+ community.
“In America, you can be whatever you want,” she said. “Don’t be weak and gay. Stay hard. The video then cuts to Ms Gomez holding the gun.
The video sparked immediate reaction, with users mocking and condemning the bizarre video Anti-LGBTQ+ statement, Earlier this year, Ms Gomez posted a video of herself using a flamethrower to burn LGBTQ-themed books. X banned the video shortly thereafter, saying “it may violate X’s rules against hateful conduct.”