Local Republicans Feature Sanctioned Right-Wing Election Denier, Representative of Indicted Trump Co-Defendant in Georgia


	Republican candidate for Congress (10th District) Jim Carris (left) and Republican Lake County State’s Attorney candidate Mary Cole (right) at the Antioch Republicans fundraiser on October 21, 2023

Waukegan, IL — While Republicans in Washington, DC, struggled to find a Speaker, Republicans in Lake County had no trouble finding one who represents their shift to right-wing extremist values. On October 21, 2023, the Antioch Republicans held a fundraiser featuring 2020 election denier/right-wing attorney David Shestokas, who was sanctioned by a judge in 2023 for filing a frivolous election challenge, and is currently representing an indicted co-defendant of Donald Trump’s in the Georgia election interference case. Republican Jim Carris (opponent of our Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider) and Republican Mary Cole (opponent of our Democratic Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart) were at the Antioch event.

When he’s not busy advising groups on how to secede from Illinois like Southern states did before the Civil War, Antioch Republicans’ Guest Speaker David Shestokas demonstrates the worst Republicans have to offer when it comes to fair elections and voting rights. Earlier this year, Shestokas was sanctioned by an Illinois judge for filing a frivolous lawsuit challenging legitimate vote totals, and now he’s representing Stephen Lee, an indicted Trump co-defendant in criminal jeopardy for trying to intimidate Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman. After Trump lost Georgia in the 2020 election, Ruby Freeman was repeatedly lied about by Trump and threatened by his supporters, so she called 911 when Lee appeared at her home on consecutive days, banging on her door. Shestokas, like defendant Lee, is a 2020 election denier who claims Donald Trump won the presidential election he actually lost.

“Sadly, it’s no longer shocking anymore to see how low Republicans in Lake County will go. The Guest Speaker for the Antioch Republicans continues to undermine the legitimacy of our elections, and, whether it’s their candidate for Congress, for State’s Attorney, or other leaders who attended the fundraiser, the Republicans are willingly going along for the wild, dangerous ride,” said Lake County Democrats Chair Lauren Beth Gash. “Local Republicans can continue their shift to the extreme Right, but Lake County Democrats are focused on getting Democrats on the ballot, standing up for important issues like voting rights, and winning elections in 2024 by reflecting the values of the people of Lake County, not of Donald Trump and his minions.”