Many Republican candidates who were directly linked to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol lost their bids for office in Tuesdays midterm elections , in a big repudiation of extremism and GOP efforts to torpedo democracy.

Democrats had made the future of democracy a key issue in the campaign, linking just about every GOP candidate to Trumps lies about the 2020 election and his pernicious attempts to overturn it. They had mixed success on that front, beating some election deniers while failing to defeat others.

But they were effective in preventing people with some of the strongest ties to the Capitol riot from obtaining seats to statewide and federal offices.

In Pennsylvania, GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano lost to Democratic state attorney general Josh Shapiro. Mastriano was deeply involved in the scheme to overturn the election in Pennsylvania. He also chartered buses for Trump supporters to travel from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., for the stop the steal rally that preceded the riot. Mastriano posed for photos with fans at the event, and videos showed him walking toward the Capitol building after protesters had already charged past police barricades.

In Maryland, GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox lost to Democrat Wesley Moore. Cox also organized buses for Trump supporters to travel to D.C. for Trumps rally at the White House and called former Vice President Mike Pence a traitor after he refused to overturn the election in Congress.