Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R-LA), who led efforts to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election and to ban abortion nationally, is dropping into Colorado Friday for a $500-per-plate fundraiser for Colorado congressional candidate Gabe Evans.
Johnson is only one of at least 13 high-profile GOP extremists who’ve endorsed Evans, who faces Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo in one of the most competitive congressional races in the country. Here’s the list:
Donald Trump
The top MAGA extremist on Evans’ “endorsements” page is Trump himself. He formally backed Evans two days after Evans refused to say whether he thinks the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Evans aligns with Trump in opposing Roe v. Wade, supporting the Trump tax cuts, backing Trump’s extreme call for the mass deportation of all undocumented immigrants, and more.
Tom Cotton
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) has a long history of being one of the Republicans’ hard-right attack dogs in the U.S. Senate. He’s publicly called for Social Security cuts and co-sponsored a national abortion ban, saying recently that women in the military should take leave if they have to travel to another state to have an abortion if they are based in a state where abortion is banned. He was under consideration to be Trump’s running mate.
Elise Stefanic
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanic voted to decertify the 2020 presidential election results — after her efforts to overturn the election via a bogus lawsuit failed. She called the Jan. 6 rioters “hostages,” and she made multiple false claims about 2020 election irregularities that she’s never rescinded. In addition, she’s called for a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Jim Banks
Indiana Congressman Jim Banks is an anti-abortion extremist, favoring a national ban on abortion. He chaired the ultra-conservative Republican Study Group in Congress for two years.
Mario Diaz-Balar
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balar (R-Fla) is an election denier.
Jack Bergman
Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, after joining the failed Texas case trying to overturn the 2020 election based on false claims about election irregularities in key states like Michigan.
Brian Mast
Florida Congressman Brian Mast is an election denier who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
August Pfluger
U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Tex) voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
Scott Gessler
Former Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who’s currently defending Grand Junction election official Tina Peters against charges that she leaked voting information, is a notorious right-wing extremist in Colorado. He’s said the 2020 election was “probably stolen” from Trump and he helped Trump to contest election results in court by serving as “testifying expert.”
Jim Eckersley
In the days after Jan. 6, this Weld County conservative activist took to Facebook to blame “left-wing agitators” for the Jan. 6 riot. He called it a “produced event.”
Scott James
Weld County Commissioner Scott James, who briefly ran against Evans in the primary, would vote for the complete repeal of Obamacare. He also opposes Roe v. Wade and backs Trump.
Peggy Propst
Former Colorado Board of Education Member Peggy Propst advocated for the debunked conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen. In 2022, she sounded the alarm about Colorado students dressing as “furries” and wanting “litter boxes in the bathroom,” allegations that were rejected by school officials.
Michael Farris
Michael Farris was president of Alliance Defending Freedom from 2017 to 2022. Under Farris, ADF played a key role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and Farris himself worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election. ADF is currently on the advisory board of Project 2025, which Farris acknowledged with pride in 2022, saying, “As a member of the Project 2025 Advisory Board, ADF will work tirelessly to reverse the dangerous course this administration has set and get America back on track to building freedom’s future.” In his Facebook endorsement of Evans in December, Farris wrote, “If you are a conservative and want to support candidates who will make a difference and not just pay lip service to our cause, join me in supporting Gabe Evans for Congress!” Evans commented on Facebook that he was “particularly proud” of the Farris endorsement.
Kat Cammack
Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, stating on the House floor on January 7 that the insurrection only strengthened her belief that she stand firm in opposition to election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona. She’s also shared an account of her experience inside the House chamber on Jan. 6 that differs from most reported versions.
Evans and Caraveo are competing to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, which was formed after the 2020 Census, increasing Colorado’s representation in the U.S. House from seven seats to eight. It’s one of the most competitive of the 435 House seats in the country and is located north of Denver. It includes parts of Weld, Larimer, and Adams Counties, and unaffiliated voters make up close to 50% of registered voters.
In 2022, a Libertarian candidate netted 9,280 votes, which is significantly more than the 1,632 votes that separated the Democrat Caraveo and the Republican, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer.
