Derrick Evans filmed himself strolling the halls of Congress as a member of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. Three years later, the ultraconservative West Virginian hoped to return to Capitol Hill as a full-fledged congressman.
On Tuesday, however, those dreams were dashed.
The Associated Press projected that his opponent, three-term Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) clinched the GOP nomination with over 60 percent of the vote.
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Evans—alongside his far-right supporters House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) and former President Donald Trump crony Roger Stone—bet that running to the right of the MAGA sympathetic Rep. Miller might pave the road back to Capitol Hill.
For his role on Jan. 6, Evans resigned from the West Virginia legislature and served a three month prison stint in 2022. Though Evans pleaded guilty to felony civil disorder, he has continued to parrot the baseless claim that the 2020 general election was stolen.
Evans’ conservative cred extends beyond participating in the insurrection. He made a name for himself harassing women as an anti-abortion protester and hired the far-right publisher of National File, Noel Fristch, as a campaign consultant.
Despite his hard-right bona fides, Evans’ gambit failed to move the needle. But another term for Miller—who will now almost certainly win the general election in November—doesn’t mean West Virginians will lack MAGA representation.
The conservative think tank Heritage Action reported Miller voted with their agenda 92 percent of the time.
