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Pro-Trump election deniers are on the ballot for roles overseeing elections in 4 swing states after Tuesday's primaries

Aug 4, 2022, 20:40 IST
Business Insider
Arizona state representative Mark Finchem (R-AZ) at an October 2021 rally in Iowa State Fairgrounds, in Des Moines.Rachel Mummey/REUTERS
  • Pro-Trump election deniers triumphed in GOP primaries in 2 swing states Tuesday.
  • If they go on to win their elections they would gain vast power over state voting processes.
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Republican candidates who have baselessly denied the validity of the 2020 election won their primaries in two swing states, increasing the number of states where they are a step away from power.

The results mean that the candidates are poised to take control of elections in their states, including future presidential elections, if they win in November's midterms.

Election-denying candidates won in Arizona and Michigan on Tuesday, adding the prior wins in Pennsylvania and Nevada.

However in other swing states, including Georgia, attempts by pro-Trump election deniers to win office have not been as successful.

Here's a rundown of the results:

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Arizona:

Michigan:

  • Tudor Dixon was nominated as the GOP's gubernatorial candidate.
  • Kristina Karamo and Matthew DePerno were nominated as secretary of state and attorney general.

All three have espoused Trump's election fraud conspiracy theories, baselessly disputing the validity of Biden's victory in Michigan in 2020

Pennsylvania:

Doug Mastriano, another Jan. 6 protester, won the GOP gubernatorial primary in May.

Nevada:

Election denier Jim Marchant won the GOP secretary of state nomination in June.

Analysts believe that a clean sweep of victories for the candidates is improbable, with current Governor Gretchen Whitmer currently the favorite to win reelection in Michigan, and Democrat Katie Hobbs believed to stand a good chance of winning the Arizona governorship.

In Pennsylvania, Mastriano's candidacy is seen as a long shot even by some Republican strategists.

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Indeed, Democrats appear to believe they are wll-positioned to beat pro-Trump election deniers come November.

In some races they have actively backed extreme candidates against incumbents, including the Missouri 3rd congressional district GOP primary, where spent money on ads promoting election denier John Gibbs, who triumphed Tuesday against incumbent Peter Meijer, an anti-Trump Republican.

Though election laws are set by state legislatures, their governors, secretaries of states and attorney generals have key responsibilities in assigning election officials, deciding how elections are conducted, and upholding the integrity of votes.

Election deniers could sew chaos by demanding recounts, refusing to certify results, and undermining trust in the fairness of contests in positions of power.

Trump since his defeat in 2020 has relentlessly pushed bas less claims that victory was stolen from him, and has made loyalty to his election fraud "Big Lie" a key factor in deciding who to endorse as part of his extensive 2022 endorsement strategy.

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Each of the election deniers who triumphed Tuesday had secured Trump's endorsement.

In recent months, Trump allies have embarked on an extensive campaign to win elections to relatively low-level offices which involve key responsibility for administering election, in contests that until recently attracted little attention.

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