ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler landed an endorsement Thursday from fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a supporter of the controversial QAnon movement and a virtual lock to win Georgia’s 14th Congressional District seat next month.
Greene, who owns a construction company, has drawn national attention for past online videos reported in the Washington Post and Politico in which she appeared to promote the anti-government conspiracy theory QAnon and dismiss the racial-justice underpinnings of the Black Lives Matter protest movement.
But on Thursday, Greene told reporters during a news conference in Paulding County she decided to endorse Loeffler because they share a determination to stop socialism.
“If [Democrats] get their way in November, our economy will be wrecked, our jobs will be lost and our country will be plunged into a socialist hellhole,” Greene said.
Greene praised Loeffler for introducing legislation to target street violence Greene linked to the left-wing political movement Antifa and to Black Lives Matter.
Greene also cited Loeffler’s support for the police and gun rights and her opposition to abortion.
“I’ve fought to protect innocent life, our God-given 2nd Amendment rights, our borders and our religious liberties,” Loeffler said. “And just like Marjorie, I’ve taken on the radical left, cancel culture and fake news media – and won.”
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to the Senate late last year to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson. She is running to retain the seat in a crowded special election field that features 20 candidates.
The Democratic Party of Georgia responded to Greene’s endorsement of Loeffler by accusing the senator of pandering to Republican voters to save her campaign. Loeffler has trailed Democrat Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, in recent polls.
“Bragging about an endorsement from a candidate like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been denounced by members of her own party as ‘appalling,’ shows yet again just how out of touch Senator Loeffler is with Georgians,” The Democratic Party wrote in a statement.
Dan McLagan, campaign spokesman for U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, the other leading Republican in the Senate race, was succinct in his response.
“That’s a good endorsement for Kelly,” McLagan wrote in a text message.
Recent polls have shown Collins and Loeffler in a battle for second place behind Warnock and a spot opposite the Democrat in a likely January runoff.