Ohio GOP candidate touted endorsement from Holocaust denier: report

A Republican congressional candidate in a key battleground district is in hot water after touting an endorsement from a Holocaust-denying conspiracy theorist, according to Jewish Insider.

According to the report, Orlando Sonza, a former prosecutor and West Point-graduated veteran, included Kiumars Kiani on his list of endorsements both on his website and social media accounts. Kiani, who previously ran for Congress himself and also goes by the name "Dr. Q," was listed as a “community leader & grassroots activist” who supports Sonza's campaign against Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman.

Kiani has denied the Holocaust on his social media and proclaimed Jews are "Satanists." In his 2016 congressional run, he ran a radio ad that pushed virulently antisemitic conspiracy theories that "Jewish bankers" were stealing the election for Hillary Clinton.

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“The international bankers around Goldman Sachs and the Fed are the organized, worldwide, Christ-hating, America-hating Jewish shadow government behind communism and the New World Order,” said the ad. “These Jewish bankers rig key elections through their control of all five big TV networks which are issuing the false polls and their control of the 3 big mega election vendors.”

Notably, Landsman, who defeated longtime Cincinnati-area incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, is Jewish himself.

When informed of Kiani's history, a spokesperson for Sonza's campaign said, “Upon learning of Kiani’s anti-Semitic comments, we reject Kiumars Kiani’s endorsement entirely. Anti-Semitism has no place in our country, in our campaign, and in our politics.”

This is not the first time in recent years an Ohio Republican has come under controversy for antisemitism. When he was first running for office, Sen. J.D. Vance, now former President Donald Trump's running mate, was roundly criticized for a post that connected criticism of the Jewish civil rights group the Anti-Defamation League to being denied "access to the financial system" — at a moment he was running against a Jewish opponent in the GOP primary.