Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday implored Republican Sen. Josh Hawley to resign, and a new poll released Thursday shows that a majority of Hawley's constituents in Missouri agree that the lawmaker should quit following his role in inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to a survey (pdf) of Missouri voters conducted by Data for Progress and MoveOn, 51% of likely voters in the state--91% of Democrats, 52% of self-identified independents, and 20% of Republicans--believe that Hawley should resign immediately as a consequence for sowing doubt about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Like several additional GOP lawmakers, Hawley has faced criticism for baselessly challenging the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden's decisive electoral win, an effort that critics say implicates them in last week's right-wing assault on the halls of Congress.
Since the January 6 insurrection, Hawley has tried to distance himself from the actions of the pro-Trump mob, yet even in the aftermath of the deadly riot, the lawmaker still--alongside 139 House and seven other Senate Republicans--voted against certifying the Electoral College results.
While Hawley has tried to portray his objections to Biden's victory as a principled stance in defense of "election integrity," Rep. Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) reminded the Missouri Republican of the infamous photograph in which Hawley is depicted raising his fist "in solidarity with white supremacists who attacked our Capitol."
"While you may politically regret what you've revealed about yourself," Ocasio-Cortez said, "you still have no place in public office."
