Hiding Heidi Ganahl’s Primary Standing Threatened while Danielle Neuschwanger Steals her Thunder with Party

As Heidi Ganahl remains AWOL, she’s leaving the Republican primary field ripe for another candidate’s taking — and right-wing extremist Danielle Neuschwanger is stepping into Ganahl’s spotlight and emerging as the GOP’s new favorite. Neuschwanger is proving her popularity after winning back-to-back straw polls at gubernatorial forums – where Ganahl was absent – and blowing past other candidates in the field like Greg Lopez.

In the forums, Neuschwanger repeated her conspiracy theories that the election was stolen, saying, “the 2020 election happened and it was stolen from us.” Neuschwanger stopped short of denying she aligns with domestic terrorists, “you may label me a domestic terrorist, but I’m also known as an American patriot.” 

Meanwhile, Ganahl knows she’s in trouble if she hides from her party forever. As Neuschwanger gains momentum, she’s frantically scheduled some meet and greet appearances of her own – avoiding any forums or debates with her Republican opponents.

Ganahl is also struggling with abysmal fundraising numbers. She had fewer grassroots donors than Neuschwanger in Q4 and 41% of her 2021 fundraising came from her own bank account.

“Heidi Ganahl is in trouble in this race and she knows it,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “If she wants to maintain her status in the field, Ganahl will have to embrace Neuschwanger’s brand of far-right extremism. When she eventually is forced to come off the bench and talk to voters, she’ll inevitably expose herself as the out-of-touch, far-right candidate she is.”