Holocaust Denier Wins Republican Nomination In Illinois Congressional Race
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Aiden Pink March 21, 2018
A Holocaust denier is officially the Republican nominee for a congressional race in Chicago after no other candidates qualified for the primary ballot.
Arthur Jones, a 70-year-old former leader of the American Nazi Party, ran unopposed in Tuesday’s primary. His campaign website includes a section called “Holocaust?” in which he calls the genocide of six million Jews “the biggest blackest lie in history.” In an interview on CNN, Jones claimed that “the Jews basically control the country, the Congress, the economy, the media.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition and the Illinois Republican Party have condemned his candidacy. The state party had successfully pushed Jones off the ballot in past races, but did not do so this time after finding that his election petition signatures were valid.
“Going forward, the Illinois Republican Party will explore all options to oppose Mr. Jones’ candidacy — whether that be supporting an independent candidate for IL-03 after the primary, encouraging a write-in campaign, and potentially other options,” the state party’s executive director told the Chicago Sun-Times last month. “Nazis have no place in our nation’s democracy, and to that end, we will continue to vehemently oppose everything Mr. Jones stands for.”
Jones will face incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski, who fended off a primary race from progressive challenger Marie Newman. Lipinski is strongly favored to win in his heavily Democratic district.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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