New Report: “Dave Reichert Wants to Put Ballot Boxes Near Firing Ranges”

New Report: “Dave Reichert Wants to Put Ballot Boxes Near Firing Ranges” 

In his latest effort to court far-right extremists, a new report from The Stranger reveals that former U.S. Congressman and Republican candidate for governor Dave Reichert advocated for placing ballot boxes at gun ranges across Washington state, saying, “try to steal a ballot from a gun range. How about a gun shop? Places like that where we know we can protect our votes.” 

As The Stranger notes, Reichert’s plan is “unserious, unnecessary, and fraught for a number of reasons,” but is the former congressman’s latest attempt to win over “the most rabid members of his base.”

Reichert made these comments to supporters at a Pierce County GOP gathering, the latest in a series of extreme comments that Reichert has made behind closed doors while trying to appear moderate in public. Other examples include:

• Earlier this month, Reichert told a crowd of his supporters that he would vote for President Trump after months of dodging the question publicly, that he “love[s] Donald Trump’s policies,” and that he has “a MAGA hat at home with [Trump’s] signature on it.”

• Speaking at an event hosted by anti-abortion extremist group Firmly Planted Action, Reichert promised to “unravel” state laws that protect abortion access.

• In May, it was revealed that Reichert “was caught on mic joking about threatening to shoot journalists” in a closed-door event with his supporters.

• Reichert told a group of his supporters that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” according to The Seattle Times.

• In May, Reichert was caught denying human causes of climate change, claiming that “‘the guy upstairs’ is responsible for controlling the weather.”

• At another campaign event, Reichert secretly promised supporters in a closed-door meeting that he would pretend to be a moderate to win the election, but that once he’s in office, he would “start showing our conservative ideas.”

“Every day, it becomes clearer that there are two Dave Reicherts in this race: the Dave Reichert that pretends to be a moderate, and the real Dave Reichert, who pushes dangerous fringe ideas, wants to ban abortion and supports Donald Trump,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “Dave Reichert knows that the more Washington voters learn about him, his dangerous record, and harmful agenda, the less likely they will be to support him, so he’s resorting to outright lying. Washington voters know the truth, and Reichert won’t get away with his election year act.”

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