While Rep. Steve Pearce doesnât mention abortion on his campaign website, he is planning to appear this weekend with anti-abortion activists who have actively pushed QAnon and other far-right conspiracies as his campaign for governor enters its final weeks.
Abortion has played a significant role in Pearceâs political career, and the New Mexico Republican has proudly enlisted the help of Bud and Tara Shaver, Albuquerque-based missionaries who run an organization called Abortion Free New Mexico.
But the couple in recent years has spread far-right and conspiratorial messages from QAnon, Alex Jones, Wikileaks and Gavin McInnes, the founder of a violent far-right group whose members reportedly beat a protester in New York on Friday.
Pearce and the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Michelle Garcia Holmes, are scheduled to speak at the Shaversâ Northern New Mexico Pro-Life Legislative Summit on Sunday.
The Shavers supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and Bud Shaver repeatedly used the hash tags â#HandcuffHillaryâ and â#HillaryForPrison2016â on Facebook.
It was a precursor for his messaging during the Trump presidency.
After a woman accused President Donald Trumpâs Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of trying to rape her at a high school party in the 1980s, he shared a post from Jonesâs InfoWars about the accuser: âChristine Blasey Ford Ran Mass âHypnotic Inductionsâ of Psychiatric Subjects as Part of Mind Control Research.â
Shaver also shared a post that claimed, âThe Leftists Are Conducting Satanic Rituals Ahead Of Kavanaugh Nomination.â
In September, he shared an InfoWars post with the headline âTrump Planning Mass Arrests, Military Tribunals for Deep State Traitors.â Shaver added, âHAS TO BE DONE,â along with emojis of the American flag and praying hands.
Last year, Pearceâs congressional office included praise from Tara Shaver in a press release about his effort to get the Justice Department to investigate alleged abortion violations at the University of New Mexico.
The Shaversâ website, Pro-Life Witness, includes a photo of the couple posing with Pearce and asks for donations to their organization to support his campaign.
âWe are working to help Michelle Garcia Holmes in her campaign for Lt. Governor and also Congressman Steve Pearceâs campaign for Governor, but we need your help,â they wrote. âPlease give your best gift today to help us elect pro-life leaders in the late term abortion capital of the nation.â
In May, the New Mexico Political Report reported that the Shaversâ âprovocations in New Mexico have alienated them from many mainstream conservatives, including self-proclaimed âpro-lifeâ Republicans,â but Pearce remained an ally.
Tara Shaver dismissed the suggestion that the coupleâs affiliation with QAnon and other conspiracies would hurt their credibility.
âPeople are always trying to make affiliations between what we do, what our tactics are,â she said.