Kari Lake Backs Candidate With History of Racist, Anti-Gay Slurs – Newsweek
Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, has endorsed an Oklahoma state Senate candidate who has made repeated homophobic and anti-Semitic comments, as well as peddled in conspiracies, such as saying that “COVID shots kill.”
Republican Jarrin Jackson edged Ally Seifried in the June primary and will face her again in a runoff election on August 23, with the winner taking on Democrat Jennifer Esau in November. Jackson has described his campaign as “a return to the basics, to repent for our obedience to tyrannical government and to obey God.”
“I am honored to be endorsed by the #AmericaFirst (and Trump-endorsed) warrior who drained the McCain swamp in Arizona and is now the GOP nominee for governor in Arizona – Kari Lake,” Jackson tweeted Wednesday. “She is a rising star and her endorsement is a big deal! Thank you, Kari!”
In July, The Oklahoman reported of multiple instances in which Jackson has posted conspiracy theory-based live streams on social media networks like Rumble, or made anti-gay comments on Telegram, such as equating LGBTQ language to Satan, and saying “LGTBQ is the gateway to pedophilia.”
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“There’s no such thing as homosexual marriage,” he wrote on Telegram. “God made marriage man + woman. Conservatives CONSERVE God’s order. Sin is not God’s order.”
In a video in June—Pride Month—Jackson said being gay “is the most disgusting, despicable, stupid blehh [gagging noise] thing ever. Insert barf emoji. And yet, we’re supposed to celebrate this and supposed to treat it like it’s normal?”
Aside from saying he doesn’t “want a society of homosexuals,” he has also said he is “not beholden to Jews.”
“The godless commies gaslight bc they hate the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Jackson wrote on Telegram in response to an @StopAntisemites tweet that called him out for his previous statements.
Lake, a 2020 election denier who is in a tough race of her own, called Jackson a “winner.” Jackson, too, maintains that “Trump won” the last presidential election.
“We need fighters in EVERY state, that’s why I’m proud to endorse Jarrin Jackson for Oklahoma state senate!” Lake said in her endorsement. “Jarrin is an America First patriot and does so much to advance our America First movement. RINOs & the Soros media attack him relentlessly because he’s over the target.”
Jackson is a former infantry officer who served multiple tours in Afghanistan and now “owns and operates an ammunition company with customers in every state except those that hate guns.”
The born-again Christian describes himself as a “pro-Donald Trump, pro-election integrity” candidate who intends to put an end to “grooming and radical education of children in school” and critical race theory.
“I am running for Oklahoma’s State Senate to defend Oklahomans against further communist infiltration, and to change our path from godlessness to humility and hard work,” his campaign website says. “The rule of law is ignored because people do not fear God. The Bible is God’s word and is sufficient for leading a prosperous and peaceful life. Public officials need to appeal to the authority of Scripture more often and with greater deliberation.”
Aside from saying elections should be held on just one day with same-day results and “conducted using watermarked paper ballots,” Jackson said that “sexual ‘liberation’ and Darwin’s lie of evolution have misled an entire generation of Americans to believe that God does not exist and that degenerate sexual behavior should be accepted.”
Newsweek reached out to Jackson, Lake and Seifried for comment.