Election Deniers Are Taking Over the GOP

A staggering 70 percent of Republicans running for Congress this cycle have either questioned or flat-out denied the results of the 2020 election — a grand total of more than 370 election deniers on the 2022 midterm ballot. Some MAGA Republicans, like Wisconsin gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels, even hinted at overturning future elections they disagree with.

One must look no further than the extreme 2022 GOP Senate slate to see this takeover in action. First up is New Hampshire GOP Senate nominee Don Bolduc, who once said that “Trump won the election, and damn it, I stand by my oath!”

Associated Press: “During a debate in August, Bolduc was clear: ‘I signed a letter with 120 other generals and admirals, saying that Trump won the election, and damn it, I stand by my oath.’”

Next up is Blake Masters, the Arizona GOP Senate nominee who was so desperate to win Donald Trump’s endorsement that he has sown doubt about the results of a free and fair election that 81 million Americans voted for.

CNN: “Arizona Republican Blake Masters, who earned Donald Trump’s endorsement for the Senate race by embracing the former President’s lies that he won the 2020 election, has turned to questioning whether the 2022 midterm election will be legitimate, as he tries to lock up support among the party faithful ahead of next month’s primary.”

And Nevada MAGA Republican secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant has been a “leading proponent” of lies about the 2020 election.

POLITICO: “A leading proponent of the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen is on the verge of becoming the chief elections official in Nevada — which would put him in charge of running the vote in the critical swing state for the 2024 presidential election. If Republican Jim Marchant wins his close secretary of state race, he could fundamentally reshape elections here, with enormous ramifications for how they are run in Nevada.”

Tudor Dixon, the Michigan Republican gubernatorial nominee, has repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was stolen and won’t commit to accepting the results of the 2022 election.

MLive: “In mid-May, when a debate moderator asked if former president Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Michigan, Dixon smiled broadly and said yes as the crowd cheered.”

WXYZ: “That wasn’t the same for Dixon, who wouldn’t commit to accepting the results [of the 2022 election] through a spokesperson.”

And it gets worse: Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and was directly involved in a plot to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

POLITICO: “Investigators with the Jan. 6 select committee have said Mastriano was involved in a plot to recruit alternate electors in Pennsylvania to give Trump an electoral college win even though Biden won the state. Mastriano was also outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 before the insurrection.”

But perhaps no Republican has doubled and tripled down on their own election lies than Kari Lake, the GOP’s nominee for Arizona governor. During an interview with CNN this month, Lake refused to commit to accepting the results of her election not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. 

CNN: “Kari Lake won’t commit to accepting 2022 election results”

And these extreme election deniers are being welcomed into the Republican Party with open arms. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is working to help elect more election deniers to Congress.

CNN: “The National Republican Congressional Committee announced this month the 32 candidates who qualified for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s ‘Young Guns’ recruitment program, which includes promising candidates in competitive races who have met key fundraising benchmarks. At least 12 of them have sought to undermine the legitimacy of the past elections by either signing on to lawsuits challenging them, falsely claiming they were somehow compromised, calling for further investigations or outright saying they were stolen.”

This is the state of today’s GOP: completely beholden to the most extreme, election-denying wings of the party.