Former Virginia gubernatorial candidate and Confederate apologist Corey Stewart has won the Republican nomination for Senate. He will face Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in the general election this November.
Stewart currently serves as the Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman, but he captured the national spotlight last year during the Republican gubernatorial primary, running as an immigration hardliner and shamelessly supporting Confederate monuments. Though Stewart lost the nomination, his relative success surprised many who followed the race.
Stewart was an early supporter of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and served as Trump’s Virginia state chairman — though he was let go after leading a protest against the Republican National Committee, saying it wasn’t supporting Trump strongly enough following the release of the infamous “grab them by the pussy” tape.
Here, as Stewart celebrates his successful Republican primary win Tuesday night, are some of his other greatest hits.
That time he said Hillary Clinton was deadlier than an AR-15
In March, Stewart went after former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Twitter, saying, “You’re more likely to be killed by @timkaine running mate @HillaryClinton than you are by an AR-15. #guncontrol”
You're more likely to be killed by @timkaine running mate @HillaryClinton than you are by an AR-15. #guncontrol
— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) March 9, 2018
Neither Clinton nor Kaine has ever killed anyone. The AR-15 has been used in number of mass shootings, including the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as well as the Sandy Hook shooting, the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and the Las Vegas concert shooting.
That time he raffled off an AR-15
During his gubernatorial bid last January, Stewart called for the abolition of concealed weapon permits in Virginia and held an AR-15 giveaway.
“I knew it would cause some excitement and notoriety,” Stewart said at the time. “The fact is that the AR-15 is a good rifle. It’s good for target shooting and good for hunting, and I wanted to demonstrate that.”
During the giveaway, Stewart also said of concealed weapons permits, “It’s not dangerous. There’s no reason that a law-abiding citizen should have to apply to the government to obtain a permit.”
All those times he supported Confederate monuments
Stewart has been a consistent and ardent supporter of confederate monuments. In a series of tweets last summer, Stewart accused then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate — and current Virginia governor — Ralph Northam of betraying his heritage for not supporting Confederate monuments.
Within hours, the tweets were deleted, and Stewart tweeted an apology.
Our previous tweets were interpreted in a way we never intended. We apologize and reiterate our denunciation of racism in all forms.
— Virginia GOP (RPV) (@VA_GOP) August 23, 2017
In another speech last year — while surrounded by Confederate flags — Stewart said he was proud of the flag and claimed it isn’t racist. (It is.)
That time he called Republicans ‘flaccid’ for expanding Medicaid
When Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates began taking steps to expand Medicaid in the state earlier this year, Stewart released a statement headlined, “Flaccid, Soft, Weak Republicans in House of Delegates Caved, Should Be Removed.”
Stewart’s release went on, saying, “House Republicans are flimsier than toilet paper, except toilet paper actually has use. They’re so pathetic. It is time to get rough and remove these weak Republicans from office.”
The GOP-led Virginia General Assembly approved Medicaid expansion last month, opening the door for 400,000 people to get access to government health insurance.
That time he blamed the left for anti-Semitism
Speaking at a synagogue in Fairfax County, Stewart said, “Today most of the anti-Semitic bigotry is not coming from the right. It’s coming from the left. We have to face it.”
He specifically cited Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), leaning into an ongoing smear campaign against the first Muslim elected to Congress.
Some audience members yelled back, “What about Trump?”