Far-right radical Laura Loomer wins GOP nomination for House seat in Florida

Republicans in a primary election on Tuesday selected Islamophobic activist Laura Loomer as their candidate to run against Democratic incumbent Lois Frankel for Florida’s 21st Congressional District, promoting yet another racist and problematic candidate.

Loomer has a habit of calling herself a “#ProudIslamophobe” and Muslims “savages.” In 2017, she tweeted: “Then let me be the first to say I never want another Muslim entering this country EVER AGAIN!”

Loomer has virtually no shot of winning the seat in the November general election. Hillary Clinton carried the Palm Beach-based district by 20 points in 2016.

However, by elevating Loomer, Republicans have given her Islamophobia a larger platform.

Loomer is has been banned for her extreme anti-Muslim statements by numerous social media and business platforms and websites, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Lyft, PayPal, Venmo, GoFundMe, TeeSpring, and Medium.

She’s also been banned from the far-right Conservative Political Action Conference after she harassed reporters at the event in 2019.

Loomer has made a name for herself by engaging in stunts. In 2018, she handcuffed herself to Twitter’s headquarters to demand they allow her back on the service. A year earlier, she rushed the stage during a performance of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in Central Park in New York City to yell about “political violence against the right.”

Loomer interrupted a House hearing in 2018 featuring Twitter’s CEO to demand he reinstate her account. But she was drowned out by GOP Rep. Billy Long, an auctioneer prior to his congressional service, until security could remove her from the hearing.

Donald Trump praised Loomer’s win early Wednesday morning, tweeting: “Great going Laura. You have a great chance against a Pelosi puppet!”

Loomer does not have a great chance. The race is rated a safe democratic contest by the nonpartisan political handicapping outlets Inside Elections and the Cook Political Report.

Trump will get to cast his ballot for Loomer, as she is running in the district in which he’s registered to vote.

Loomer is the second openly Islamophobic candidate to win a GOP nomination in recent weeks.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said Muslims don’t belong Congress and falsely claimed members cannot be sworn into office on the Quran, won the Republican nomination in a deep red district in Georgia last week.

“Congratulations to Laura Loomer on her primary win!” Greene tweeted on Tuesday night. “Now Twitter should re-instate her account.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.