A former US state legislator who has repeated false claims that the 2020 presidential was stolen from former president Donald Trump won Nevada's Republican primary on Tuesday for the state's top election post.
Jim Marchant, who said he ran for secretary of state at the urging of a QAnon influencer, has signalled his willingness for overturning future election results.
The mainly right-wing QAnon promotes unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and a belief that the world is run by a secret group of Satan-worshipping paedophiles.
Since losing a 2020 congressional bid, Mr Marchant has appeared at various events around the country with Trump allies to cast doubt on the last election. That includes MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, who has sought to prove voting machines were somehow manipulated.
The Republican candidate at the time also supported sending pro-Trump electors to Congress in 2020 after the state's six electors were awarded to Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Despite continued claims from Mr Trump and his sympathisers, there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud relating to the presidential election.
Mr Marchant also claimed — without evidence — that he lost his 2020 bid because of voter fraud. He said a “deep state cabal” had “installed” the state's leaders.
In November, he will face Cisco Aguilar, a lawyer and former chair of the Nevada Athletic Commission who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Mr Marchant is one of more than 100 Republican primary winners who have supported Mr Trump's false election fraud claims, a Washington Post analysis shows.
The US House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection said it had records of 61 court defeats from post-election lawsuits filed by Mr Trump.
Still, the former president's efforts to discredit the election's results appear to have permeated the Republican Party.
The Post found those who have backed Mr Trump's false claims or campaigned on the “issue of making elections more secure” are running for governor, attorney general, or secretary of state. All are positions with the power to interfere with or overturn election results.
And Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump for his role in the insurrection are being punished by voters for defying the former president.
Tom Rice, one of 10 House Republicans in favour of Mr Trump's impeachment, lost his primary in South Carolina to Trump-backed challenger Russell Fry.
“The voters have spoken and Tom Rice is coming home,” said Mr Fry. “Today, Donald Trump won.”
South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace, who denounced Mr Trump's role in the insurrection but did not vote for impeachment, survived her primary battle.
Mr Trump has vowed revenge against the Republicans who voted for his second impeachment. Of those 10, four have decided against re-election. A fifth, Representative David Valadao of California, is still awaiting the results of his primary from last week.
Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, vice chairwoman of the January 6 committee, is well behind in her race against Trump-endorsed candidate Harriett Hageman, recent polling data from WPA Intelligence shows.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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GAC GS8 Specs
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