GOP state lawmakers embrace white supremacists. Party group backs them anyway.

The Republican State Leadership Committee has provided funding to groups backing lawmakers and candidates with extremist and racist ties. No Images? Click here         GOP State Lawmakers Pal Around With White Supremacists. Party Group Backs Them Anyway.​ Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King drew national attention last week for elaborating at length on his white nationalist views in a far-right Austrian propaganda outlet. But in state legislatures across the country, GOP lawmakers’ embrace of openly racist or extremist figures, organizations and views often goes unnoticed. And even when it has been exposed in recent years, a Washington-based group that helps elect Republicans to state legislatures says nothing. The Republican State Leadership Committee has provided funding to groups backing lawmakers and candidates with extremist and racist ties. It has not, however, publicly denounced any individual lawmakers or candidates, even though several state lawmakers’ extremist ties have been exposed in recent years. In Florida, it emerged in August that Peter Gemma, a white nationalist and supporter of Holocaust denial who once worked for the openly racist Council of Conservative Citizens, hosted a campaign event for Tommy Gregory, an attorney who was elected to the state House of Representatives in a special election. Gregory, apparently not shy about associating with Gemma, touted the “meet and greet” in a Facebook post. He tagged Gemma and Gemma’s wife Catherine. In Tennessee, home to active white nationalist groups, a GOP-controlled panel of state House lawmakers killed a resolution in March urging that law enforcement prosecute “white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups” with the same ardor as other forms of terrorism. It never received a vote on the House floor. READ MORE     WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York City’s Washington Square Park on Sunday night, angrily reacting to reports that the Trump administration is considering a narrower legal definition of gender. READ MORE Jared Kushner sidestepped questions about the apparent murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, responding to a question about whether he believes the Saudi government’s denial that it ordered Khashoggi’s killing by saying the White House is “more in the fact-finding phase.” READ MORE Roughly two-thirds of Americans support legalizing marijuana, marking a record-high approval rate, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.  READ MORE    .     ICYMI The All-Donald Trump primary election strategy of Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, came home to roost Sunday in his first debate against Democrat Andrew Gillum, when the former congressman was asked whether the president was a good role model for children.   The opponent of indicted Republican Duncan Hunter is trying to convince lefties, moderates and Trump voters in his California district that he’s their guy.   A new report from the group Muslim Advocates shows that candidates who ran Islamophobic campaigns faced backlash and eventually lost their elections.    . Want more?  Donald Trump On Ted Cruz: ‘He’s Not Lyin’ Ted Anymore. He’s Beautiful Ted’ Rudy Giuliani Is Fundraising After The Proud Boys Attack By Blaming The ‘Violent Left’ Even Trump’s Base Seems To Prefer His Less ‘Trumpy’ Tweets     HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. How will Trump’s administration impact you? Sign up for our email and find out. Did a friend send you this? Subscribe here. Like what you see? Share it. Want more? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: The Morning Email and Must Reads. ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe    . - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe