Trump-backed election deniers like Kari Lake give us a crucial post-midterm reminder
Trump's 2020 "big lie" has emboldened midterm Republican candidates to use the same tactic in 2022. We need to remain vigilant about the ongoing assault on our democracy.
One day after the 2022 midterms, it’s clear many election-denying Republican candidates have been defeated. It should be a cause for celebration, but we can’t completely rejoice. Doing so would ignore the reality that defeating election deniers at the ballot box isn’t enough to repair the damage they’ve done to the trust in our electoral process or the ongoing assault on our democracy.
We are already seeing signs of this in Arizona’s gubernatorial race, which NBC News says is too early to call. Republican candidate Kari Lake’s campaign began casting doubts on the election results as her Democratic opponent, Katie Hobbs, took the lead. On Tuesday night, while addressing supporters at her election headquarters, Lake said, “It’s like Groundhog Day” — a reference to the 2020 election. “We need honest elections, and we’re going to bring them to you, Arizona, I assure you of that. The system we have right now does not work,” she continued. In comparison, Hobbs tweeted that she had “every confidence” that Arizona administered a “free and fair election,” signaling that she would accept the results.
With Trump expected to announce his candidacy for 2024 in the coming week, election deniers who lost their races Tuesday will only be given an even larger platform to air their grievances with our democratic process.
Lake is one of more than 370 GOP candidates this midterm cycle who were molded in the image and likeness of former President Donald Trump, questioning the legitimacy of our democracy, peddling the “big lie” and the dangerous idea that candidates have a choice to accept or deny the will of the people. And with Trump expected to announce his candidacy for 2024 in the coming week, election deniers who lost their races Tuesday will only be given an even larger platform to air their grievances with our democratic process.
Furthermore, leading up to the midterms, Steve Bannon said that right-wing activists were mobilizing to “adjudicate every election battle.” This means that through litigation, disruptive behavior and vigilante searches for alleged fraud, they’re prepared to be aggressive in races where their candidates lose.
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