The winner of the Republican primary for an Oregon Senate seat doubled down on her adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory Thursday despite her campaign’s attempts to distance her from the fringe idea. Jo Rae Perkins’ team wrote that the candidate “would never describe herself as a follower.” But Perkins said she was “literally physically in tears” when she learned of the statement. She told ABC, “I stand with President Trump. I stand with Q and the team...Q is the information and I stand with the information resource.” The far-right fringe theory holds that a “Deep State” made up of child-molesting political elites, high-ranking government officials, and the wealthy controls the world. In the world of the conspiracy theory, President Donald Trump is crusading against the cabal.
