January 6 defendant Jake Lang says he has formally entered the race to fill Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s former Senate seat in Florida.
Newsweek reached out to Lang via X, formerly Twitter, for comment Tuesday.
Why It Matters
When President-elect Donald Trump announced Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state, it created a vacancy for a U.S. senator from the Sunshine State. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis then appointed the state’s Republican attorney general, Ashley Moody, to take over the role until the 2026 election.
After returning to office on January 20, Trump has made sweeping change mainly through executive orders. In one of his orders, Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 people charged or convicted related to the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Trump signed the pardons on the same day of his inauguration.
What To Know
In a post on X on Monday, Lang said in part: “Today I am blessed by God to officially announce my candidacy for US Senate in the great State of Florida!! The story of the January 6 Hostages isn’t over – it’s just begun!! The Golden Age of America is HERE WE ARE TAKING OVER THE CAPITOL AGAIN This time as America’s Public Servants & Elected Leaders!!”
Lang went on the recount his time behind bars: “The January 6ers have been chosen & made for such a time as this, The time to reclaim every branch of our Republic is NOW.”
Lang was charged in a January 2021 indictment with two counts of civil disorder, one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Lang went on to petition the U.S. Supreme Court related to one of his charges, but his case was dismissed after Trump’s pardons.
Lang’s X account handle says “Jake Lang – January 6 Political Prisoner” and his campaign website says, “January 6th was a cry for change. And I am that change.”
What People Are Saying
Former Republican congressional candidate Lavern Spicer replied to Lang on X on Monday: “I am so excited that Jake Lang is running for the US Senate right here in Florida. Read all details below.”
Conservative commentator Joey Mannarino on X on Monday: “Jake Lang was locked up for four years in a J6 gulag. Now he’s running for Senate to take the Capitol back for the people! Let’s go!”
Jake Hoffman, executive director of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans, told the Florida Phoenix: “Every cycle, both parties have insane candidates with a less than 0% chance of winning enter a race, but they do it anyway. This is one of those cases.”
U.S. Senate candidate Jake Lang in an interview with the Miami New Times, in part: “The people here in Florida are ready for a firebrand conservative to represent them in Senate instead of Ashley Moody, who’s as establishment, kind of political insider as it gets.”
Florida political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message on Tuesday: “As a political phenomenon, Lang’s announcement to run for the Florida Senate reflects the ongoing reverberations of January 6 within American electoral politics.
“His candidacy raises intriguing questions about the intersection of legal accountability, public perception, and political ambition. It’s a test case for whether a figure tied to such a polarizing event can leverage that identity into a viable campaign, particularly in a state like Florida with its complex and evolving political landscape. Historically, controversial figures have sought to transform notoriety into influence. Whether he succeeds will depend on how voters weigh his past actions against his current platform.”
What Happens Next
The election for Rubio’s old Senate seat is during the general election on November 3, 2026.
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