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Marjorie Greene
Greene on "Unite America First" in 2019
Personal details
Born	Marjorie Taylor (1974-05-27) May 27, 1974 (age 50) Milledgeville, Georgia
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Perry Greene
Education	University of Georgia (BBA)

Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974) is an American politician and businesswoman from the state of Georgia. She is the Republican nominee for Georgia's 14th congressional district in the 2020 elections. She came to prominence for her public support of QAnon in Facebook videos.

Early life and education

Greene was born in Milledgeville, Georgia, on May 27, 1974. She graduated from South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, and the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Career

Greene began her 2020 candidacy in Georgia's 6th congressional district, but shifted her campaign to the neighboring 14th district after incumbent Tom Graves announced he would not run for reelection. In the days before the primary election, Facebook took down a Greene video for violating its terms of service. In the video she held an AR-15 style rifle and warned "antifa terrorists" to "stay the hell out of Northwest Georgia."

Greene finished in first place in the primary election and faced John Cowan in the runoff election. Greene defeated Cowan to win the nomination on August 11. Greene is considered an overwhelming favorite to win the seat in the general election, as the 14th typically votes heavily Republican. The 14th has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+27, making it the 10th most Republican district in the nation and the third most Republican district in the Eastern Time Zone. Among Georgia's congressional districts, only the neighboring 9th district is more Republican. Donald Trump carried the 14th with 75 percent of the vote in 2016, his eighth-best performance in the nation. On the day after Greene's runoff victory, Trump tweeted his support for her, describing Greene as a "future Republican Star" who "is strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!"

If she wins election, she will be the second Republican woman to represent Georgia in the House. The first, Karen Handel, was elected to represent the 6th in a special election in 2017, but was defeated for a full term in 2018. However, Greene would be the first Republican woman elected to a full term from a Georgia district.

Greene was initially expected to face Democratic IT specialist Kevin Van Audsal. However, on September 11, 2020; Van Audsal withdrew from the race. He did so after deciding to move in with relatives in Indiana after being forced to vacate his house under the terms of an impending divorce. As a result, Van Audsal was ineligible to run for the seat, since House candidates are required to at least live in the state they wish to represent. This left Greene unopposed for the general election, though the district is so heavily Republican that Van Audsal faced very long odds even if he'd stayed in Georgia and the race. Since the 14th's creation in 2012, no Democrat has won even 30 percent of the vote.

Controversies

Greene supported the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, saying in videos posted in 2017 on Facebook that the theories were "worth listening to". She posted 57 articles found in the archives of the American Truth Seeker website. Greene later distanced herself from the conspiracy theory and rejected the label of "QAnon candidate." She had stated in a video, "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it."

In a 2017 video posted to Facebook, Greene expressed doubt that the perpetrator of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting acted alone. She also called George Soros, a Jewish businessman, a Nazi. After the 2018 midterm elections, Greene stated that the election of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib was part of "an Islamic invasion of our government."

In 2018, Greene expressed support for a conspiracy theory that a plane did not hit the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks, saying that "it's odd there's never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon," despite video evidence. She later admitted on Twitter that the 9/11 conspiracy theory is "not correct."

After the first round of voting in the 2020 election, Politico re-released videos published by Greene in which she expressed racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic views. The videos were later condemned by Congressmen Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise and received criticism in the media.

On September 3, 2020, Greene shared a meme to her Facebook page depicting herself holding an AR-15 style rifle next to a collage of pictures of Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Greene claimed that it was time for Republicans to "go on the offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced the meme as a "dangerous threat of violence," and Omar demanded that the meme be deleted after claiming that it had already triggered death threats. In response to questions from Forbes about whether the meme was a threat, a spokesperson for the Greene campaign called the suggestion "paranoid and ridiculous" and a "conspiracy theory." Facebook deleted the meme the following day for violating its policies on inciting violence, prompting Greene to claim that Democrats were "trying to cancel me out before I've even taken the oath of office."

Personal life

Greene and her husband, Perry, have owned Taylor Commercial, a construction company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, since 2002. She has long lived in Alpharetta, which is in the 6th District. While members of the House are only required to live in the state they represent, Greene stated soon after considering a run for the 14th that she intended to move to that district if she ran there.

References

1. "Marjorie Taylor Greene: How an Outspoken MAGA Fan Built a Following in a World of Extremists". Southern Poverty Law Center. August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
2. Stilwell, Don (December 13, 2019). "Marjorie Greene officially shifts campaign to District 14 congressional seat | Georgia News". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
3. Filbin, Patrick (June 5, 2020). "Facebook deletes Georgia congressional candidate Marjorie Greene's ad". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
4. Evans, Beau (June 10, 2020). "Marjorie Greene, John Cowan likely headed for runoff in Georgia's 14th Congressional District". The Calhoun Times. Capitol Beat News Service. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
5. Rosenberg, Matthew; Herndon, Astead W.; Corasaniti, Nick (August 11, 2020). "Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon Supporter, Wins House Primary in Georgia". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
6. Cook Partisan Voting Index for the 116th Congress
7. Cohen, Max (August 12, 2020). "Trump calls Georgia GOP candidate who embraces QAnon a 'future Republican Star'". Politico. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
8. Sophie Tatum (June 21, 2017). "Handel first female GOP rep elected to Congress in Georgia". CNN.
9. Bluestein, Greg (September 12, 2020). "Why Marjorie Taylor Greene's opponent quit the House race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
10. Sommer, Will (June 11, 2020). "HISTORY! Congress Poised to Get Its First QAnon Believer". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
11. Reimann, Nicholas (June 10, 2020). "A QAnon Follower May Win This U.S. Congressional Seat". Forbes. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
12. Blake, Andrew (August 14, 2020). "Majorie Taylor Greene, QAnon candidate, wrote dozens of articles for conspiracy theory website". Washington Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
13. ^ Schultz, Marisa (August 14, 2020). "Marjorie Greene, controversial Georgia Republican, says she's not a QAnon candidate". Fox News. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
14. Domonoske, Camila (August 12, 2020). "QAnon Supporter Who Made Bigoted Videos Wins Ga. Primary, Likely Heading To Congress". NPR. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
15. Sack, Lawton (May 30, 2019). "Las Vegas Shooting Conspiracist Running in GA-6". GeorgiaPol. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
16. Nadler, Ben; Bynum, Russ (August 12, 2020). "QAnon-supporting candidate unrepentant despite GOP criticism". AP NEWS. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
17. ^ Mutnick, Ally; Zanona, Melanie (June 18, 2020). "House Republican leaders condemn GOP candidate who made racist videos". Politico. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
18. Behrmann, Savannah (August 12, 2020). "Trump calls QAnon conspiracy theory supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene a GOP 'star' after Georgia win". USA Today. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
19. Relman, Eliza (August 14, 2020). "Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressional candidate endorsed by Trump, claimed there's 'no evidence' a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11". Business Insider.
20. Reimann, Nicholas (June 10, 2020). "A QAnon Follower May Win This U.S. Congressional Seat". Forbes. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
21. Bade, Rachael; Wagner, John (September 4, 2020). "GOP candidate poses with rifle, says she's targeting 'socialist' congresswomen". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
22. Jack Brewster (September 3, 2020). "Trump-Backed QAnon Candidate Posts Meme Showing Off Gun And Urging 'Going On The Offense' Against AOC, The Squad". Forbes.
23. Cristiano Lima (September 4, 2020). "Facebook removes QAnon-supporting candidate's 'squad' post for inciting violence". Politico. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
24. "Republican announces bid for Congress | News". Dunwoody Crier. June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
25. Wagner, Diane (December 9, 2019). "GOP candidate from outside the district eyeing Graves' Congressional seat | Local News". Rome News-Tribune. Retrieved June 10, 2020.

External links

• Campaign website
• Profile at Ballotpedia

• Profile at Vote Smart

• 1974 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• People from Milledgeville, Georgia
• University of Georgia alumni
• Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
• American conspiracy theorists
• 9/11 conspiracy theorists
• Opposition to Islam in the United States
• Antisemitism in the United States
• American gun rights activists
• Candidates in the 2020 United States elections