When we were recording this week’s episode of War for the White House yesterday, the panel kicked around a question about whether or not the whole “law and order” push by the Trump campaign was fading from the media spotlight. One thing I found myself wondering was if all of the violence and riots in the streets might have less of an impact on the presidential race, but a bigger influence on state and municipal elections. Surely the business owners and residents who are watching their cities being burned and looted would hold their elected officials responsible for failing to keep them safe, wouldn’t they?

We may now be seeing that effect in Portland, Oregon, arguably among the hardest hit cities as the unrest in the streets spiraled out of control. Mayor Ted Wheeler is up for reelection next month and a recent poll suggests that the voters have indeed noticed his failure of leadership and are ready to express their displeasure at the ballot box. He’s trailing his challenger by double digits with only a few weeks to go. Unfortunately for the residents of the city, the bad news is that the new favorite to win is potentially even worse than he is. She’s a proud Antifa supporter who poo-poos the idea of violent leftists causing carnage. (Daily Caller)

Antifa supporter Sarah Iannarone is now leading the Portland mayoral race, according to a new poll.

Iannarone leads incumbent Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler 41% to 30%, according to a poll commissioned by the Portland Business Alliance, local paper Willamette Week reported on Monday. Her lead is well outside the poll’s four-percentage-point margin of error.

The poll found that 16% of voters plan to support a write-in candidate and an additional 13% of voters remain undecided.

Next month’s contest is actually a runoff election following the original vote in May when Wheeler led the pack but failed to secure 50% of the vote for a clear victory. Since that time, however, the prolonged period of violence and lawlessness in his city has clearly taken a toll on his support. Now, radical leftist Sarah Iannarone has opened up an eleven point lead over the incumbent. (You can view Iannarone’s campaign website here.)

In case we needed any more proof, this turn of the political tides should teach us one thing. Ted Wheeler was never really the problem in Portland. He was just a symptom. The Mayor’s shocking failure to maintain law and order on the streets of his city has obviously been a sufficiently good reason for residents to desire a change. But instead of supporting someone who is ready to bring down the hammer and put an end to the mayhem, the voters of Portland are apparently ready to hand the reins to someone who counts herself as a member of the very group that’s destroying their city from within. And yes, she has gone on the record to say that she is Antifa.

To those who say Antifa are violent thugs: I am not a violent thug and I am Antifa.

I am Antifa because the Red Hats are coming after brown & black people, after Jews, after queer & trans people, and more.

They are coming after our democracy. #HolocaustMemorialDay #NeverForget

— sarah iannarone (she/her) (@sarahforpdx) January 27, 2019

As the Daily Caller discovered, Iannarone surrounds herself with like-minded fellow travelers. Her campaign manager, Gregory McKelvey, has plenty of experience in leading rioters, dating back to his efforts to shut down a major highway in 2016. Iannarone apparently likes to support this sort of “activism” in her own family as well. She proudly announced back in May that her daughter was out there rioting with the rest of the mob.

My daughter was in the streets last night driven by anti-racist conviction. She is not an agitator nor an opportunist and she should not fear for her safety at the hands of Portland police.

Here is my response to last night's events. Your engagement matters and I appreciate you. https://t.co/eGMMb0WGGe

— sarah iannarone (she/her) (@sarahforpdx) May 31, 2020

Of course, the candidate was worried about her daughter’s safety. But not because of the numerous assaults and even murders taking place in the streets at the hands of Antifa. No, she was just worried about the cops injuring her.

So this is who the voters of Portland are looking at electing to replace Ted Wheeler, eh? If that’s the case, then why should we be expected to have any sympathy for the residents of Portland? Why should we support flushing any more federal funds or other resources into the effort to restore order in its streets? As I said above, it’s now clear that Ted Wheeler was only a symptom of a larger problem. The residents of Portland have created the hellscape they now live in and we should leave them to it. If they want to watch their city burn down, let it burn.