This story originally appeared in the Nevada Current.
As candidate filings for the 2022 midterm elections begin kicking campaign season into full swing, some experts worry the threatening rhetoric and language being supported by Republican candidates could escalate to violence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has already issued a warning that the midterm elections could be a rallying point for domestic extremists, sparked by unproven claims of election fraud.
Dr. Tiffiany Howard, an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who studies international security and political violence, said government mistrust along with frustration over economic strain has already created a perfect storm.
Candidates aren’t making the situation any better.
“We have an election cycle taking place, people who are still frustrated from the pandemic, and the economic situation still very bad for a lot of Americans and then politicians who are really socially irresponsible,” she said. “If these candidates are whipping people up into a frenzy who are already in a heightened state and it triggers violence at campaign events, that is something we should be concerned about.”
In his April 2021 report “How hateful rhetoric connects to real-world violence,” Daniel Byman, a senior fellow from the Brookings Institution who studies foreign policy, pointed to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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