A QAnon governor? Three California recall candidates have supported the conspiracy movement
Three Republican candidates for governor in the California recall election have expressed support for the QAnon movement, according to a new report.
QAnon is a wide-ranging, viral conspiracy theory whose adherents believe that a cabal of Satanic, pedophile Democrats are trafficking children for sex and working to undermine former President Donald Trump.
The QAnon movement has a motto: Where we go one, we go all, which is often shortened to WWG1WGA. QAnon supporters have been charged with committing murder and attempted kidnapping, and several of those who participated in the January Capitol insurrection were adherents of the movement.
Media Matters For America, a left-leaning media watchdog, published a report this week titled, “Here are the QAnon supporters running for governor in 2021 and 2022.” The Media Matters report lists Republican candidates Rhonda Furin, Sarah Stephens and Nickolas Wildstar as QAnon supporters, and shares social media posts to show it.
The candidates appear on the ballot for the Sept. 14 election aimed at recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom. They are among 46 options to replace him should the recall succeed.
Rhonda Furin
Rhonda Furin was born and raised in Minnesota, according to her campaign website. A teacher by profession, she moved to California in 1996.
Prior to running for governor in the recall election, Furin also unsuccessfully ran for the Congressional seat held by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter.
She has been a prolific sharer of the hashtag #WWG1WGA on her Twitter account, and has shared QAnon content on her Facebook page as well.
“I read QAnon as did most people and I also read through many of the FBI Vault releases & Wikileaks as they came out. I prefer to be well informed when I report on anything or respond to an issue. I would not say I am a member of any certain group, other than School Choice, as I follow and read up on all sides and make my decision based on facts and not hearsay or media lies,” Furin said in an email statement when reached for comment.
Sarah Stephens
Born and raised in San Diego, Sarah Stephens has been involved in the nonprofit world since she was 21 years old, according to her campaign website. Her campaign’s theme is “Make California Gold Again.”
This is Stephens’ first run for governor.
Stephens’ Instagram page has a post showing her standing with two women, one wearing a shirt reading “Where we go one,” the other with a shirt saying “We go all.”
“Where we go one...we go all! These two beautiful women, one from Cali, and one from Arizona, Sarah had the opportunity to meet in Tampa, Florida this weekend. They are a part of the SAVE OUR CHILDREN movement that is rising in the United States! These women take a firm stand against human trafficking and are activists in the FREEDOM movement standing against darkness. To find out more about SAVE OUR CHILDREN and the rallys we do in Hollywood message the MAKE CALIFORNIA GOLD AGAIN team. And let’s turn HOLLYWOOD and make it HOLY!!! God is not done with California! We are just getting started! #saveourchidren #endchildsextrafficking #endhumantrafficking #savethekids #stophollywood #wwg1wga,” Stephens wrote on the Instagram post.
The QAnon movement has latched on to the #SaveOurChildren hashtag campaign.
Stephens did not respond to a Bee request for comment.
Nickolas Wildstar
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Nickolas Wildstar came to California as a teenager, according to his campaign website. He has worked as a digital marketing specialist and also has had a career as a rapper. He currently calls Fresno home.
Wildstar is a prolific candidate for public office, having run in 2020 for mayor of Fresno, for Fullerton City Council in 2018, and also for governor of California in 2018, according to the website Ballotpedia.
On his Twitter account, “therealqball,” he has shared the hashtags QAnon and WWG1WGA on several occasions.
“Mental health of #WeThePeople should be taken seriously! When politicians and the #FakeNews start calling those who question government delusional and crazy it downplays those with actual mental issues. Whether you’re for #BLM or #QAnon #GoWild with #WildstarForGov2022,” Wildstar tweeted in February of this year.
Despite that history of QAnon-related posting, Wildstar denied affiliation with the movement in a statement to The Bee.
“There’s much about our government that has proven to be distrustful and down right objectionable. Whether it be the de facto law system and its enforcers or the need to borrow money from the Federal Reserve, which is no more federal than Federal Express, Americans are opening their eyes to the real world around them. I’m honored to be a pioneer of this great awakening and am happy to call anyone that lends a hand in that effort an ally; however I do not consider myself to be a card carrying Q Anon member,” Wildstar said in a statement.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 11:41 AM.