JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s been one year since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. As the congressional investigation continues, we’re looking into what effect it could have on the midterm elections later this year.
Images from the riot are likely to be very visible as the season of campaign ads is only months away.
Talks of potential hearings to be held during prime time for the American public to watch during March or April are circulating. Then there’s supposed to be an initial release of the committee findings over the summer and a more full report released in the fall right before the midterm elections.
“From the democratic perspective, they frame the purpose of this committee as seeking the truth, protecting democracy, putting together protections so this doesn’t happen again,” News4JAX political analyst Rick Mullaney said. “But as the Republicans argue, remember, every member on this committee voted to impeach Donald Trump, and they believe the committee is politically motivated.”
Mullaney says local elections will not be really affected by the Washington, D.C.-based report. He also expects our local Congress members — U.S. Reps. Al Lawson and John Rutherford — may not be too affected either because they come from districts where they have extremely strong support.
“Don’t expect a big impact on those two races,” Mullaney said.
Mullaney adds there’s a split in the Republican Party on whether the party should protect former President Donald Trump in this inquiry.
“The bigger target may actually be 2024, and that is the presidential election because one target clearly will be President Trump and his role and his relationship to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6,” Mullaney said.
News4JAX has reached out to both Rutherford and Lawson concerning their opinions on the Jan. 6 investigation.
We also spoke with Mullaney about the race for Florida’s governor. He does not expect it to play a role. He says Democratic challengers would struggle to link Gov. Ron DeSantis to the events of Jan. 6 even though it’s being used against Republicans at the federal level. He says it would not be hard for DeSantis to just focus on the state issues and stay out of it.