Aspiring GOP congresswoman said rape victims who have abortions are murderers - and that non-Christian religions are akin to witchcraft

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Cite

Joudeh, N. (2026, October 21). Aspiring GOP congresswoman said rape victims who have abortions are murderers - and that non-Christian religions are akin to witchcraft. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16227849/Aspiring-GOP-congresswoman-said-rape-victims-abortions-murderers-non-Christian-religions-akin-witchcraft.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-21 · by Nina Joudeh

Quick Summary

Katy Cornell, a Republican candidate for Washington's House of Representatives in the 26th Legislative District, faces criticism after videos surfaced showing her equating abortion with murder and referring to non-Christian religions as witchcraft during sermons at her church, SOZO Church in Belfair. The controversy centers on recordings shared by an anonymous group opposed to Christian nationalism, which also highlights Cornell’s husband removing thousands of the couple's sermon recordings from the internet during her campaign. Cornell denies being a Christian nationalist and claims she will respect the will of voters if elected.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Katy Cornell, the Republican candidate for Washington's 26th Legislative District, has faced criticism after videos of her sermons resurfaced online. In one sermon, Cornell described abortion as murder and a sin, even in cases of rape. Another video showed her appearing to agree with her husband, Tom Cornell, who stated that worshiping outside Christianity is akin to witchcraft. This controversy stems from recordings shared on Bluesky by a group opposed to Christian nationalism. Despite the backlash, Cornell maintains she will represent all constituents regardless of their faith or political beliefs and emphasizes limited government and individual liberty. The primary election in November pits her against Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield.

Written for “Aspiring GOP Congresswoman Controversial Views” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 97384: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-21

Story

📰 Aspiring GOP Congresswoman Controversial Views
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 6767 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Nina Joudeh
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Nina Joudeh
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Nina Joudeh →

Topics

Belfair Christianity House of Representatives SOZO Church Washington

Subjects

Cornell PERSON · 5× Christianity ORG · 4× Katy Cornell PERSON · 3× Washington GPE · 3× Belfair GPE · 2× Gig Harbor GPE · 2× House of Representatives ORG · 2× Renee Hernandez Greenfield PERSON · 2× SOZO Church ORG · 2× The Seattle Times ORG · 2×

Narrative

She told The Seattle Times she was 'not running to be anyone's pastor' and maintained that she would represent constituents regardless of their faith or political beliefs. 'I believe in limited government, individual liberty and protecting everyone's constitutional rights,' she said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 During a July appearance on the City Quake Podcast, her husband acknowledged deleting 'several thousand' recordings from YouTube and the church's website, saying he feared the election would take their religious teachings out of context.

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

A Republican candidate running for office in Washington state has come under fire after videos surfaced of her calling abortion murder, even in cases of rape, and appearing to agree that worshipping outside Christianity amounts to witchcraft. asserted
worshipping → run → witchcraft
Katy Cornell, founding pastor of SOZO Church in Belfair, is seeking a seat in Washington's House of Representatives in the 26th Legislative District, where she faces Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield in November. asserted
she → found → November
The Gig Harbor candidate's religious teachings have come under scrutiny after recordings of her sermons resurfaced online – including one in which she described abortion as murder and a sin – even when a woman becomes pregnant after being raped, according to The Seattle Times. uncertain
woman → come → Times
Another recording showed Cornell appearing to endorse her husband and fellow pastor Tom Cornell's claim that worshipping outside Christianity amounts to witchcraft. uncertain
worshipping → show → witchcraft
'Anyone trying to communicate with gods or God outside of Jesus Christ is doing witchcraft,' he told their congregation. asserted
he → try → congregation
The footage was among several recordings a group opposed to Christian nationalism shared on Bluesky, an ideology that aims to merge Christianity with American politics. asserted
that → oppose → politics
The videos have also raised questions about why Cornell's husband removed thousands of the couple's sermons from the internet while Cornell was campaigning for public office. asserted
Cornell → raise → office
During a July appearance on the City Quake Podcast, her husband acknowledged deleting 'several thousand' recordings from YouTube and the church's website, saying he feared the election would take their religious teachings out of context. asserted
election → acknowledge → context
Katy Cornell, founding pastor of SOZO Church in Belfair, is seeking a seat in Washington's House of Representatives in the 26th Legislative District The Gig Harbor candidate's religious teachings have come under scrutiny after recordings of her sermons resurfaced online asserted
recordings → found → sermons
The person behind the Bluesky account, who requested anonymity over safety concerns, told the outlet they began investigating Cornell's sermons in January. asserted
they → request → January
Cornell has denied accusations that she is a Christian nationalist, insisting that she does not believe government should establish or enforce Christianity or any other religion. asserted
government → deny → Christianity
She told The Seattle Times she was 'not running to be anyone's pastor' and maintained that she would represent constituents regardless of their faith or political beliefs. 'I believe in limited government, individual liberty and protecting everyone's constitutional rights,' she said. asserted
she → tell → rights
Although her views on abortion are rooted in her religious beliefs, she said she would 'respect the will of the people and the initiative process.' asserted
she → root → people
Her Democratic opponent, Renee Hernandez Greenfield, has questioned both the recordings' content and the decision to remove them from public view. asserted
opponent → question → view
Hernandez Greenfield described the sermons and their deletion as 'troublesome' and 'concerning,' stating that some of the material still available online made her wonder what else had been removed. asserted
what → describe → material
The controversy comes as both candidates have attracted substantial financial support in their campaigns for the open House seat. asserted
candidates → come → seat
The Daily Mail has requested comment from Katy Cornell. asserted
Mail → request → Cornell
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