Five Republican candidates are administrators for a racist Facebook group that pushes conspiracy theories

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis has come under scrutiny for his involvement with the same “Tea Party” Facebook group

Written by Natalie Martinez

Published


Melissa Joskow / Media Matters

UPDATE (8/31 12:20 p.m.): Corey Stewart and Daniel Crenshaw are no longer listed as administrators and moderators of the Facebook group “Tea Party.” Stewart is a neo-Confederate who is running to represent Virginia in the Senate. Crenshaw is running to represent Texas’ 2nd Congressional District.

All five of the Republican candidates who were listed as administrators and moderators of the group at the time of publication have left the Facebook group. Rep. Jim Renacci and Rep. Ron DeSantis left the group prior to publication of this post.

UPDATE (8/31 9:12 a.m.): Danny Tarkanian, who is running to represent Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives, and his wife Amy Tarkanian are no longer listed as administrators and moderators of the Facebook group “Tea Party.” Matt Rosendale, who is running to represent Montana in the Senate, is also no longer listed as an administrator and moderator of the group.  ​

UPDATE (8/30 5:10 p.m.): Patrick Morrisey, who is running to represent West Virginia in the Senate, is no longer listed as an administrator and moderator of the Facebook group “Tea Party.” And in July, Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH), who was named as the Republican nominee for a Senate seat representing his state in May, was listed as an administrator of the group.

ORIGINAL POST:

Five GOP-backed Republicans running for office in 2018 are listed as administrators and moderators for a racist, conspiracy theory-pushing Facebook group called “Tea Party.” Some of the group’s administrators have spread hate speech against Muslims and Black activists, and have pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and other false stories about Seth Rich’s murder, the Clintons, and the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, to the group’s almost 95,000 members.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) recently came under harsh scrutiny for his involvement in the same Facebook group, where he was listed as an administrator until August 29. A former employee of the anti-Muslim ACT for America was brought on as an administrator to campaign for DeSantis in the group about a week ago.

Administrators and moderators of the group have been campaigning for all the candidates since as early as September 2017. The candidates are:

  • Daniel Crenshaw, running to represent Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives;
  • Danny Tarkanian, running to represent Nevada in the House;
  • Corey Stewart, running to represent Virginia in the Senate;
  • Matt Rosendale, running to represent Montana in the Senate; 
  • Patrick Morrisey, running to represent West Virginia in the Senate.

Daniel Crenshaw has been a member of the Tea Party group since May 2018. He has shared Facebook videos from his congressional campaign page twice, with the most recent share coming on August 13. A few other administrators have promoted Crenshaw’s candidacy and shared his Senate campaign’s Facebook page. Some of these posts identified Crenshaw as an administrator for the group.

Danny Tarkanian and his wife, Amy Tarkanian (a former chair of the Nevada Republican Party), are both listed as administrators of the group. Administrators of the group have been promoting Danny Tarkanian since 2017, when he was running for Dean Heller’s Senate seat in Nevada (he later withdrew). Administrators have also promoted Tarkanian’s 2018 run for the House. Although Danny has not posted in the group, Amy Tarkanian promoted his Senate campaign in the group multiple times in 2017. In 2018, she also shared a post attacking Oprah for her weight and family life.

Corey Stewart, a neo-Confederate candidate in Virginia, joined the Facebook group in July 2017 and has been a favorite of some of the group’s administrators since September 2017. Administrators promoting Stewart’s campaign have highlighted his anti-immigrant and pro-Confederate-statue positions and amplified Stewart’s social media attacks against Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Matt Rosendale and Patrick Morrisey have both been members of the Tea Party group since October 2017. Neither has posted in the group, but other administrators have been bolstering their Senate campaigns since they were admitted. 

Several far-right and conservative media figures also appear to be listed as administrators and moderators of the Facebook group. These names include:

A reader tip contributed to this story, which has been updated for clarity. Thank you for your support and keep them coming.