‘We Have to Take Over’: Far-Right Extremists Want to Seize Control of the GOP

Far-right activists interpreted the Democrats’ midterm gains as a chance to draw disaffected voters towards their causes and increase their influence within the Republican Party. White nationalist Nick Fuentes urged supporters to vote Democrat, then claimed credit for the result and said the far right should take over the right wing.

Researchers found that 338 of 476 far-right-linked candidates in called statewide races won, a 71 per cent success rate; most were Republican incumbents. Some states also approved measures targeting transgender athletes, voter identification and immigration, which extremist groups cited as signs of public support. Researchers cautioned that even in places where such candidates lost, they could still draw on a substantial base of voters.