Republican Candidates Focus on Crime Despite Personal Controversies
As crime emerges as a significant voter concern in the upcoming November elections, several Republican U.S. House candidates are emphasizing law and order. However, some of these candidates face scrutiny over their own past legal issues or records.
Despite the FBI’s reports indicating a decline in crime rates since 2021, Republican candidates are utilizing advertisements and social media to highlight crime as a critical issue. This approach aims to resonate with voters’ fears, often portraying communities as more perilous than data suggests.
For instance, Scott Baugh, a Republican candidate from California’s 47th district, has released an advertisement depicting his Orange County district as plagued by gang violence. The ad highlights Baugh’s efforts in counseling at-risk youth.
Yet, Baugh’s past includes a 1996 indictment on multiple charges, including nine felony counts related to falsifying campaign reports and urging perjury from an aide. Although the charges were dismissed procedurally, Baugh faced civil court penalties and paid a fine.
In Illinois’ 17th district, Joe McGraw, a criminal judge, is running a similar campaign. McGraw, who claims extensive experience in incarcerating criminals, has a judicial history of lenient sentencing for severe offenses, including cases involving sex offenders.
Notably, in 2014, McGraw sentenced a woman to probation for the neglect and death of her infant, contrary to prosecutors’ 22-year prison recommendation. Additionally, in 2022, he lowered a murder suspect’s bail from $5 million to $50,000, permitting release pending trial.
McGraw’s sentencing approach, as explained during a June event, involves a spiritual process: “I would take the file folder, go back in chambers, and I’d lay it on the floor,” McGraw said. “Then, I would lay on top of that file and I’d pray, and pray, and pray until God gave me leading of what to do. Then I’d come back out and give my ruling.”
Other Republican candidates have linked crime to border security issues, a narrative contradicted by falling crime rates and studies showing migrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. Furthermore, recent years under President Joe Biden have seen an increase in border apprehensions compared to the Trump administration.
Rep. Mike Garcia, representing California’s 47th district, perpetuates claims of migrant crime via numerous social media posts. He asserts that undocumented migrants are responsible for violent crimes against Americans.
Garcia has publicly stated, “Violent criminals are crossing our border, victimizing Americans, and being released back onto our streets by soft-on-crime politicians,” in an August post. Despite these assertions, Garcia supported the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which proposed significant budget cuts, including those affecting border security and crime prevention programs.
In North Carolina’s first district, Laurie Buckhout engages in similar rhetoric, attributing border security lapses to increased crime and fentanyl overdoses, as seen in a December 2023 social media post. Buckhout has faced criticism for attending events hosted by a convicted sex offender and was arrested in 2017 for DUI after refusing a blood alcohol test.
Contrary to such claims, public health data indicates a consistent decline in fentanyl-related fatalities since 2023.
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