A former Michigan GOP leader and advisor to the Lincoln Project said Republican voters have lost their minds after a recent poll showed a Michigan gubernatorial candidate's arrest over the Capitol riot hasn't hurt his popularity.
According to the Department of Justice, Ryan Kelley was arrested by the FBI on June 9, and was accused of being involved in the insurrection on January 6, 2021.
Kelley, a real estate broker, is accused of encouraging the mob at the Capitol to go to the stairs.
A poll taken by the Detroit Free Press in the days after his arrest showed Kelley as the leader in the GOP race for governor.
Kelley has higher name recognition and favorability than the other candidates.
Half of the 10 candidates for the Michigan GOP governor's race were removed from the ballot due to accusations of forged signatures.
Jeff Timmer, the former executive director of the Michigan GOP, said that Kelley's lead in the polls shows how far from normal the Republican mainstream has become.
It would have been the end of the campaign for governor if a candidate had been arrested by the FBI, said Timmer, a senior advisor with the anti-Trump Republican group the Lincoln Project.
Far-right voters are so far down the rabbit hole of delusional propaganda that they are living in an alternative reality.
He said that Republicans have lost their minds.
His campaign manager didn't answer the phone.
In an interview with News 8 he said the charges were all about the election and that Kelley's arrest was anintimidation tactic.
Kelley has not been allowed to leave the state or possess firearms since his arrest. A donation drive on a Christian site linked to Kelley's campaign has raised more than $13,000 for his legal defense.
The treasurer of Kelley's political action committee told Insider that the funds would be used for legal defense.
Chris Kelley wouldn't say how he was related to Ryan, but he did say that he was related. He shared the same thoughts about Ryan Kelley's arrest as well.
Chris said a lot of this seemed suspicious to him. I will assure you that whatever they're saying he's being accused of, it wasn't him that was doing it. I know that for certain.
In April 2020, Kelley led a protest at Michigan's capitol building, where a rowdy crowd compared the new governor to Hitler for issuing a stay-at- home order.
The building was invaded by members of the armed protest.
It would be dangerous to assume that Kelley doesn't have a chance at being governor, even though it can be easy to rule him out.
Kelley will be the Republican candidate in the general election if he gets an endorsement from Trump.
Timmer hoped that the Democrats would become better at communicating with the White House about the dangers of the Republicans.
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