'A very dangerous lie': Rep. Quigley blasts rival Hanson for denying 2020 election results
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley blasted Republican challenger Tommy Hanson's continued refusal to acknowledge President Joe Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.
"It's how Jan. 6 happened," Quigley said during an online interview this week, referring to last year's deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob supporting then-President Donald Trump. "I was in the (Capitol) on Jan. 6. These people believe the big lie, and people died as a result."
Quigley and Hanson are seeking to represent Illinois' 5th District in the U.S. House. They sat for a joint interview with the Daily Herald.
Although both Hanson and Quigley are from Chicago, the 5th District was enlarged ahead of this election to include much of the Northwest suburbs. It cuts diagonally through Cook and Lake counties between Chicago's Near North Side and the Barrington area.
When asked if Biden is the legitimately elected president, Hanson said "it's a hard thing to say 'yes.'"
"Most Americans really doubt whether the election was legitimate or not," Hanson said.
When pressed for a source to back up that claim, Hanson said: "All you have to do is just read the paper or watch the news or talk to people."
Hanson had said Biden's victory wasn't fair during the 5th District primary race, too.
Quigley called such denial of the election results "a very dangerous lie that has made people question our democracy."
The discussion got more heated later when Hanson minimized the severity of the COVID-19 virus, saying a lot of people "believe it was just the flu."
Quigley lashed out, calling Hanson "manifestly unfit for any elected office."
"This is a dangerous person," Quigley said.
Hanson broke with his party - and his own campaign website - by supporting a woman's right to have an abortion.
"It's her private business," he said. "It's not my business. It's not your business. It's not anybody's business. It's her private right to keep that to herself."
Those statements contradict Hanson's claim on his website that he is "pro-life."
Hanson supported the Supreme Court's decision this summer to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and give states the right to regulate abortion. He said lawmakers in states that favor abortion rights, such as Illinois, shouldn't force their will on states that oppose abortion.
Quigley, who has supported legislation protecting abortion access, said Congress should enact a federal law protecting abortion rights, just as it acted to protect civil rights in the 1960s.
"There are universal rights," Quigley said.
Quigley has been in office since 2009. He defeated Hanson in 2018 and 2020.
Election Day is Nov. 8.