‘Lie Back and Enjoy It’: Republican Candidate Who Made Rape Joke About Daughters Loses

A Republican in Michigan lost out on a state House seat Tuesday that had never been won by a Democrat. Prior to his historic defeat, he used a rape analogy involving his daughters and the 2020 election, which he said was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Robert Regan narrowly won the GOP nomination to represent the state’s District 74 in the general election. He grabbed headlines two months ago after he equated the 2020 election to a “rape.” The Washington Post reported,

A Republican candidate favored to win a seat in the Michigan House said he tells his daughters to “just lie back and enjoy it” if raped, as he attempted to make an analogy about abandoning efforts to decertify the results of the 2020 election.

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During the discussion, fellow panelist Amber Harris, a Republican strategist, told the group that it is “too late” to continue challenging the results of the 2020 election, suggesting Republicans should instead move on and focus on future races, to which Regan replied: “I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it.’ ”

The comments were made during a Facebook livestream hosted by a pro-Trump group called the Rescue Michigan Coalition.

Regan faced Democrat Carol Glanville Tuesday in a special election to fill the vacant seat. He lost by double digits.

The Detroit Free Press reported,

Results remain unofficial, but with all precincts in the district reporting, Glanville led Regan by more than 1,500 votes as of 10:30 p.m. She topped 51% of the total votes cast; Regan garnered 40% and 7.9% went to write-ins.

Regan launched an unsuccessful bid for the state House in 2020, in which he came in third in the GOP primary.

His daughter tweeted before the race, “[If] you’re in [Michigan] and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone.”