California Rep. Josh Harder faces anger intended for Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley

A California Democrat wants voters across the nation to know an important piece of information: He’s not Josh Hawley.

Since Jan. 6, Rep. Josh Harder (D-Turlock) has been besieged with phone calls, emails, letters and tweets excoriating him for voting against the certification of President Biden’s victory.

Harder voted to certify Biden’s win — along with every Democrat in the House and Senate. But Harder’s name is close enough to that of the Missouri GOP senator that he has become an accidental target of some voters’ wrath.

“I would like to take this moment to remind Twitter that I am Josh Harder, not @HawleyMO,” he tweeted in January, using Hawley’s Twitter handle.

Harder’s staff provided a sampling of the misdirected feedback.

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“You are an idiot and an insurrectionist,” one email said. “You should be thrown out of the senate. Period.”

Another said “Get out of here U racist hater,” and another simply called him a “fascist.”

The tweets, emails, calls and letters that reverse the two Joshes come “about every day,” according to Harder spokesman Ian Lee.

“Things have slowed down since Sen. Hawley has faded from the news, but we’re sure some folks are still confused about who’s who,” Lee said.

Tweets have tagged Harder’s Twitter account alongside that of Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who also led efforts in the Senate to vote against certifying election results.

Harder sent a fundraising email about the mix-up on Thursday, asking supporters to show that they “stand with the correct Josh H.”

“As you know, Josh Hawley peddled election fraud conspiracies which led to the Capitol insurrection, and has refused to apologize or take any accountability for his actions,” the email said. “But Democrats are sending their anger to the wrong Josh! Our inboxes have been flooded with notes very upset with Josh Hawley.”

A majority of House Republicans and a handful of Senate Republicans voted to block the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania after Cruz and Hawley raised objections. The votes took place hours after a violent mob stormed the Capitol in a riot that left five people dead, including one Capitol Police officer.

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Hawley was photographed raising his fist in solidarity to a crowd of former President Trump’s supporters outside the Capitol shortly before the riot and faced widespread backlash in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

His political mentor, former Missouri Republican Sen. John Danforth, has blamed him for the riot. Donors, such as Kansas City-based Hallmark’s corporate political action committee, have asked for refunds. Democratic colleagues have called on him to resign and filed an ethics complaint against him in an effort to potentially expel him.

But the Missouri Republican and potential 2024 presidential contender has been defiant in the face of criticism. He’s sent out a string of fundraising pleas related to his objection — which his campaign says brought in nearly $1 million from small-dollar donors in January — and he’s repeatedly gone on Fox News to rail against his critics.

“They want to silence and punish conservatives. They tried to do it with me — although I’m not going to be silenced .… It’s unbelievable and we just have to stand up and say no,” Hawley told Sean Hannity during a Thursday night appearance.

In the meantime, Hawley’s fellow Josh from California continues to face a portion of the backlash.

“Please accept responsibility for your horrible crimes against the citizens of the United States and RESIGN NOW!” an emailer told Harder in late January in response to a New York Times story about Hawley.