A Concerning Trend Amongst the G.O.P Going into Midterms
American Flags and voting buttons Source: Cottonbro, Pexels
The 2022 Midterm Elections are on the horizon for states across the country, with several races being hotly contested. The Washington Post reported on these specific elections and reached out to 19 Republican candidates and 19 Democratic candidates to see if they would accept election results from their races with some disturbing responses (or lack thereof) from candidates for senate and governorship races across the nation.
If this trend of candidates not accepting election results or being ambiguous about acceptance seems familiar, that's because this trend has continued to plague the American electoral process since former president Donald Trump contested the 2020 election results. This led other Trump-supporting and Trump-backed officials to follow suit and attempt to overturn the results on Jan. 6 during the certification. Although this sort of attitude from candidates looking to hold office is only words at this point, the fact that the idea is being floated is enough to be deeply concerning to the sanctity of our elections given the recent history of doubt in the American democratic process.
The Washington Post article delves into detail about the candidates they surveyed. Of the 19 G.O.P candidates, “12 either refused to commit or declined to respond.” This is in stark contrast to each of the 19 Democratic nominees questioned who all said they would accept the election results. Some of the 12 of these G.O.P candidates have been in hotly contested races thus far, with attitudes about the election that are deeply concerning.
Some of the G.O.P candidates who declined to answer the Post's questions include Blake Masters from Arizona, who is the Republican candidate for the senate seat. Masters is a Trump-backed candidate who received his support from Trump after he offered credence to the theory of the “stolen” 2020 election. Masters did an interview with NBC News where he offered support to senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their roles in the objection to the certification of election results.
The Michigan gubernatorial race is between incumbent Gretchen Witmar and Tudor Dixon, with Dixon being the only candidate to offer the Post an explanation as to why she would not necessarily commit to the results of the coming election. The Post quotes the spokesman for Dixon saying, “In 2020, Jocelyn Benson knowingly and willfully broke laws designed to secure our elections, which directly correlates to people’s lack of faith in the integrity of our process.” The Post confirms that Benson didn’t break any laws in 2020. This sort of doubt about the 2020 election results has been pushed by Dixson for two years, and Dixon’s campaign did not comment on if she would accept these results.
To preserve the sanctity of American elections, two current candidates in the U.S. that have either not committed to accepting election results or outwardly stated they would not, are two too many. Unfortunately, other states experiencing the same issue of their candidates refusing to accept results include J.D Vance of Ohio, Tedd Budd of North Carolina, Kelly Tshibaka of Alaska and Geoff Diehl of Massachusetts, according to a similar survey conducted by the New York Times.
With all of these candidates up for a senate seat or governorship, it is crucial that voters are aware of what may come this November. Many of them are Trump-backed members of the G.O.P who allow Trump to speak at campaign events to rally support. The track record of Trump actively attempting to overturn the 2020 election results by spreading lies and furthering conspiracies that led up to the Jan. 6 insurrection is concerning enough, but to then have other elected officials echo these claims is at best, disturbing.
It's important to note that the American election process has long been central to the continuity of the country, even when results were challenged before. The 2002 election between former president George W. Bush and Al Gore is one example of how our elections have faced issues, but resolved them with dignity and respect to the will of the people. The Post article points out that recently in Georgia, Stacy Abrams did not originally concede to governor Brian Kempt in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia, however, she did in the days following. She alleged voter suppression in the state of Georgia, which was not a totally unfounded claim. She will face Brian Kempt again in November, and is committed to accepting the election results according to the Post article.
American elections have always been a cornerstone of our democracy. The legitimacy of our government is furthered by our commitment to a democratic society that offers citizens the right to vote for who they see fit to represent them in government. Within the last few years, this cornerstone has been chipped away from the sustained effort by former president Trump and his G.O.P supporters to lie about the veracity of the 2020 election. This caused a ripple effect to now with several current republicans taking the tradition of promise to a peaceful transition of power in vain. So much of the fate of this country's ability to sustain its democratic process relies on the people, and cries for people to register to vote have been heard loud and clear for years now. However, this plea to voters is important to reinstate time and time again, especially now.
If you are 18 or older and have not registered to vote, visit vote.gov to check your eligibility and how to register to vote for the upcoming midterms.