On the campaign trail, Republican candidates avoid talking about the idea that a cabal of pedophiles is preying on children, a core tenet of QAnon. But they embrace false claims that liberals “groom” children with progressive sex education. When criticizing Covid-19 restrictions, many Republicans riff on QAnon’s belief that a “deep state” of bureaucrats and politicians wants to control Americans.

The most prominent talking point with echoes of QAnon, though, is the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Mr. Trump. The movement pushed that idea long before any votes were cast, and before Mr. Trump catapulted the claim to the mainstream.

At least 131 candidates who announced bids or filed to run for governor, secretary of state or attorney general this year have supported the false election claims, according to States United Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on elections and democracy.

By comparison, so far just 11 of 37 congressional candidates with some history of boosting QAnon have advanced from primaries to the general election, according to Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group. Only one of them, J.R. Majewski in Ohio’s Ninth District, stands a chance at adding to QAnon’s representation in Congress. Overall, Media Matters linked 65 current and former congressional candidates to QAnon so far this year, compared with 106 during the 2020 election.