Midterm elections: Republican anger at 2020 is a wildcard

A GOP candidate for the statehouse stated that "I believe there are many people who are saying it is rigged" and said that it was futile to even go out and vote. "I hope that this doesn't happen."

Midterm elections: Republican anger at 2020 is a wildcard

FREEPORT, Pa. -- Donald Trump won Butler County by 32 points in the last Presidential Election.

Franko, 58, stated that they knew there was cheating.

Together with other like-minded residents, she formed the Butler PA Patriots. This right-wing group attends county commissioner meetings to demand investigations in the 2020 count. It also recruits people to be poll watchers, candidates for local committees and school board seats.

Franko was seen at the door of a debate that her group organized for Republican candidates for statewide office. Tickets were $20-25 each. The event was attended by more than half a dozen candidates for governor and lieutenant Governor. Tickets were $20 to $25 each.

Franko stated, "We, the Butler Patriots undoubtedly know that there was cheating during the 2020 presidential election." "And we are disturbed."



 

There has been no evidence of fraud in Butler County for more than a year. No evidence of significant fraud has been found anywhere else within the 15 month period since President Joe Biden was elected . In Pennsylvania, and other hotly contested swing state in court rulings or recounts, his certified victory was confirmed.

These data points were not relevant here as candidates, including those who were present at the Capitol Jan. 6, expressed opinions on 2020 that ranged from doubts regarding a valid vote to certainty that the election was rigged.

"The big lie" was what Teddy Daniels, a candidate to be lieutenant governor, stated during the debate. The audience cheered.

Trump is one year out of office and the midterm elections approaching quickly, so he has increased efforts for resistance to the reality that he lost. In a statement made on the anniversary of the rioting by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, in an attempt to stop the formalization Biden's win, he told his supporters to "never lose heart".

He sought to make the next contests revolve around debunked claims about a rigged electoral process, supporting a large number of candidates who have questioned these results. The first rally of the year was held in Arizona and featured a line-up of election deniers.

There are also signs that his voters' anger at the 2020 election and belief in the lie that his victory was stolen has only grown. Some in GOP have stated that they would prefer to focus on and other issues that might resonate with a wider audience, such as inflation.

Melvin Everson, a former Republican State Representative in Georgia, stated that "the country is drifting right now" during an interview at a Gwinnett County GOP breakfast. "The election is in the rearview for some, but it is still at the forefront the minds of many."

This highlights a core divide in the Republican Party: how much attention should be paid to the previous presidential election, while trying to win the next. Trump is the undisputed leader in the GOP, and the odds-on favourite to win the nomination for 2024. He wants 2020 to be at the center of his agenda. Many Trump-supporting Republicans, who want to promote a forward-looking message and not dwell on 2020's results, have tried to get the needle moving.

A NBC News survey from last month found that 11 percent of Americans consider election integrity to be the top-two issue. This is in addition to issues like jobs, the economy, immigration and taxes and spending.

On a conference call in January with Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee Chairwoman, Sen. Rick Scott explained that strategy to reporters.

Scott, R.Fla. said, "We're going defending the voter election laws." "And we are doing it in many states now. We'll make sure that people vote in the 22 and 24 cycles. However, we don't want anyone's vote to be diluted by someone who doesn't possess the right to vote. We don't condone cheating."

Many Republicans are skeptical about the election results. They now feel that claims of "cheating," which began as outright ballot stuffing, have become a feeling of unfairness because of the expansion of mail-in vote due to the pandemic.

Freeport debates saw candidates and attendees cheer the news that a Pennsylvania court had struck down the state's mail in voting law earlier in day. However, the decision is still on hold while the state appeals to its Supreme Court. Jason Berger, a longshot gubernatorial candidate, said that Biden had "cheated fair-and-square."

Republicans' assurances that fraud theories are not meritorious based on their own investigations are met with resistance.

Michigan's Bob Cushman (a retired pilot from Detroit aged 71 who played a minor role in Trump’s efforts to reverse the election results there), called GOP state Senator Ed McBroom "a lie" at an election fraud rally. His committee had rejected the stolen election conspiracy theory. It also debunked the viral election claims.

Arizona's former GOP secretary of state Ken Bennett was present at an October session. He was also the liaison to the long-running partisan review of Maricopa County’s millions of ballots. Maria, a local resident was furious with Bennett for claiming that the investigation had not found any evidence of Trump's victory.

She said, "I disagree with your comments about Trump." "About Trump's not winning. Because people will say, "See, we were right all along." It's not your audit to downplay the audit. It's our audit.

Bennett stated that he was not simply expressing his opinion.

"I'm a big Trump supporter. He said that he would have loved for someone to tell him that they had found something else. "But we didn't in Maricopa County."

Franko stated that she wasn't influenced by the review done by her county commissioners in Butler County. (In September, GOP Commissioner Leslie Osche stated to NBC News that she has no reason "generally" to believe the vote there isn't representative of the will and will of the voters.

Some election deniers are even questioning the value of voting after all the anger generated by the 2020 vote.

Gary Taylor, 65, from Pinckney stated that unless we fix what went wrong -- and I voted since I was able -- I'm pretty much done." "It's pointless. "I think the entire thing is corrupt."

This sentiment could be a factor in Republicans winning or losing elections. Trump and his associates were accused of making constant fraud claims in Georgia's Senate election in January 2021. This was enough to allow for one, if not both, Democratic victories.

Late last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told supporters in a virtual town hall, "We must vote."

She said that there have been "some big negative voices that are saying terrible things." "They have been telling people not vote in the next election. That is the biggest lie I believe. Anyone who tells you not to vote is helping the enemy.

Sherrylyn Young (a Tucson candidate for the state Senate) attended the question-and answer session with Bennett. She said that even a small percentage of Republicans abandoning elections is "a major concern."

"I believe there are many people saying it's rigged, and it's pointless even going out to vote. She said, "I hope that doesn’t happen." If it comes down to it, it might be enough to swing an election.

Other surveys suggest that Republican voters who believe Biden won the election was fraudulent are more likely to vote than those who don't.

A Economist/YouGov poll last month showed that 86% of Trump voters stated they would definitely or are likely vote this fall. Only 6 percent said they might or definitely not. Eighty percent of Biden voters said they were certain or probable to vote, while only 9 percent said they were likely/certain not to.

Franko stated, "I am [voting] to support President Trump's request." "Many of us still love President Trump.


 

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