A number of Republicans who supported Donald Trump’s false, baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” are now looking to have more control over future elections.
At least four Trump-supporting, Democracy-overthrowing Republicans, all from key battleground swing states, are launching campaigns for secretary of state.
The candidates include Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia, a leader of the congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 Electoral College results; Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem, one of the top proponents of the conspiracy-tinged vote audit in Arizona’s largest county; Nevada’s Jim Marchant, who sued to have his 5-point congressional loss last year overturned; and Michigan’s Kristina Karamo, who made dozens of appearances in conservative media to claim fraud in the election.
The secretary of state is a state’s chief election official. And while some states limit the power of the position, relying more on city and county officials to oversee elections, what happened last November made it clear that the secretary of state is still an incredibly influential role. All four of these candidates are running in states where the incumbents–two Democrats and two Republicans—refused to overturn their states’ election counts or perpetuate Trump’s “big lie” about nonexistent election fraud.
If MAGA sycophants had been in office, the whole ordeal would definitely have been even more grueling than it already was—or is, as some states are still insisting on re-auditing the long-settled results.
Even beyond this one monumental mess of an election, voter suppression is rampant in Republican-led states. It’s built into the GOP handbook to such an enormous degree that even the most outspoken deniers of Trump’s election lies still won’t denounce other, much more common and pernicious forms of election fraud, and yes I am talking about Liz Cheney.
Liz Chaney refuses to connect the Big Lie to voter suppression laws in the states. There are no defenders of voting rights in the GOP.
Excellent journalism by @jonathanvswan. pic.twitter.com/2bEbfEF4Pu
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) May 23, 2021
Remember, this is the kind of viewpoint Republicans consider too liberal for their party. The very last thing we need is more MAGA extremists getting more power over our elections.
(via Politico, image: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
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