The QAnon Caucus Could Be Getting a New Member

Before he won last night’s GOP primary in Ohio, J.R. Majewski’s most notable political act was turning his entire yard into a giant sign for former President Donald Trump during the 2020 campaign season.

Now, he could be heading to Congress.

Majewski, 42, who has openly boosted the QAnon and Ukrainian biolabs conspiracy theories, defeated two sitting Ohio state lawmakers and will now face off against 40-year Congressional veteran Rep. Marcy Kaptur in November’s election.

In Tuesday night’s primary, Majewski secured 35.8% of the vote, beating state Rep. Craig Riedel (30.5%) and state Sen. Theresa Gavarone (28.9%).

Ohio’s 9th Congressional District has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, and Kaptur has consistently won by at least 11 percentage points since her first election to the House in 1982.

But redistricting by state GOP lawmakers means the district now leans slightly Republican, leading Cook Political Report and Inside Elections to label November’s general election a toss-up.

Majewski, an Air Force veteran, is now an executive at a company that specializes in safe storage of spent nuclear fuel, according to the Toledo Blade.

He had no political experience before he was catapulted into the spotlight when Trump tweeted out his gratitude after Majewski painted a giant “Trump 2020” sign on his 19,000-square-foot front lawn ahead of the November 2020 presidential election. 

Majewski then appeared on Fox News to discuss his giant sign, and during the appearance he wore a T-shirt with a QAnon logo on it. On Instagram, he’s posted multiple images and hashtags that are linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory, including #WWG1WGA, #thegreatawakeningworldwide, and #qanon, the think tank Media Matters for America reported.

Majewski is also a close friend of Zac Paine, a major QAnon influencer who is known to his followers as RedPill78. The pair attended a dinner in October 2020, where they were photographed with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.

Majewski has appeared several times on Paine’s online show, including a recent appearance alongside Jacob Creech, the former wine bar manager who started the Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory.

In January 2021, Majewski claimed on Twitter he had raised $20,000 to fund travel for 30 “patriots” to Washington, D.C., for the “Stop the Steal” rally. Majewski himself attended the event with Paine, posting multiple pictures and videos of themselves in and around the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6.

While Majewski has subsequently claimed he left the Capitol before the riot began, in a video posted to Paine’s social channels on the evening of Jan. 6, he admitted to breaching police barricades and walking to the base of the Capitol. 

Majewski announced his candidacy a month later, on February 22, 2021.

Despite his inexperience and his more experienced opponents, Majewski cemented his victory by advocating for an American First policy–which ultimately won him Trump’s endorsement.

“He’s been carving the name Trump on his farm and those planes would pass over that farm,” Trump said during a recent rally in Ohio. “You know who I’m talking about. And he’s a great guy and he’s in there fighting for whatever the hell he’s fighting for. I don’t care. I love him, J.R. Majewski. He’s a genius.”

Trump’s vocal support for Majewski’s campaign was backed up by hundreds of thousands of dollars from Political Action Committees (PAC) who paid for attack ads against Riedel and Gavarone, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Among the groups supporting Majewski is the Drain the Swamp PAC, which spent $170,000 on attack ads against his opponents.

Majewski could soon become the third member of Congress to have openly boosted QAnon conspiracy theories, and just like Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene before him, Majewski has sought to distance himself from the movement as it becomes more likely that he’ll be elected.

In Majewski’s case, he claims to have not fully understood QAnon’s meaning. And that QAnon shirt he wore on Fox News? He later donated it to the Salvation Army.

Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.