Gabrielle Hanson ran for mayor of Franklin, Tennessee—and got walloped. Incumbent Mayor Ken Moore received 80% of the votes in a landslide October victory, which the Tennessee Lookout points out was likely the result of a “significant turnout.” But according to NewsChannel5, Hanson doesn’t believe she lost. In fact, she and a few friends were able to conjure up a very broad conspiracy on the fly, proving she hadn’t lost at all!
The beleaguered MAGA candidate appeared on a podcast after her loss to talk with Lyle Rapacki—best known for his election-denial “activism” in Arizona—and antisemitic, failed Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem. Both men are known for their comfort with sweeping, fact-free conspiracy theories. According to NewsChannel5, the podcast was no different as the lies, mistruths, and conspiracy theories spewed from the trio’s mouths.
Hanson claimed there was a conspiracy to print fake stories about her, including the news that she was arrested for promoting prostitution and the article detailing how she invented a group of diverse friends and claimed them as supporters in social media posts (then subsequently doubled down on the lie). Then there was the story about how she received security services and support from neo-Nazis. All of the stories were reported on by dogged NewsChannel5 reporter Phil Williams, and Hanson falsely claimed that the media outlet was paid to run the stories.
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Finchem, repeating the right-wing-o-sphere’s tried-and-true claim, said, “What they are doing is they're publishing bullshit, trying to make people think that it is legitimate. And then they recycle it and they recycle it and they recycle it again—and suddenly it becomes this urban legend that somehow transcends the truth.” Pot, meet kettle.
Hanson also pointed to the record turnout for the Franklin City election, saying, “We had three and a half times the normal turnout for an election.” Actually, it’s more like four and a half, ma’am. According to the Tennessee Lookout, 16,209 ballots were cast in the most recent election, compared with 3,475 in 2019. That is a 366% increase in turnout. Franklin residents were that motivated to make sure Hanson did not become mayor of their Middle Tennessee town.
Hanson also referred to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell as a “self-described socialist” (he has not described himself as a socialist), implying he has some untoward relationship with poll watchers. She also declared that when the secretary of the Williamson County Young Democrats told her he opposed fascism, it meant he was “Antifa.”
Once again: The unofficial results of the Franklin mayoral election were 12,822 for incumbent mayor Ken Moore and 3,322 for MAGAbrielleHanson. The hardest pill for the MAGA world to swallow is the proof that shows they are solidly in the minority. On top of that, they cannot believe how abhorrent their ideas are to people who aren’t even particularly progressive, but realize that a vote for MAGA is a vote for chaos and authoritarianism.
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