Driving the Day:
From the @nytimes: "Every election denier who sought to become the top election official in a critical battleground state lost at the polls this year."https://t.co/4YWVMJ3PGJ
— Defend Democracy Project (@DemocracyNowUS) November 14, 2022
Must Read Stories
Voters Overwhelmingly Rejected Election Deniers Running To Control Elections
- New York Times: Voters Reject Election Deniers Running to Take Over Elections: Every election denier who sought to become the top election official in a critical battleground state lost at the polls this year, as voters roundly rejected extreme partisans who promised to restrict voting and overhaul the electoral process. The national repudiation of this coalition reached its apex on Saturday, when Cisco Aguilar, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state in Nevada, defeated Jim Marchant, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Marchant, the Republican nominee, had helped organize a national right-wing slate of candidates under the name “America First.” With Mr. Marchant’s loss to Mr. Aguilar, all but one of those “America First” candidates were defeated. Only Diego Morales, a Republican in deep-red Indiana, was successful, while candidates in Michigan, Arizona and New Mexico were defeated. Their losses halted a plan by some allies of former President Donald J. Trump and other influential donors to take over the election apparatus in critical states before the 2024 presidential election. The “America First” candidates, and their explicitly partisan statements, had alarmed Democrats, independent election experts and even some Republicans, who feared that if they gained office, they could threaten the integrity of future elections.
- Five Thirty Eight: Denying The 2020 Election Wasn’t A Winning Strategy For Political Newcomers: As our forecast predicted, the majority of candidates who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election are projected to win their races. But the bulk of those wins are from incumbent Republicans, in particular members of Congress who voted not to certify some of the 2020 election results. Many of the most vocal election-denying candidates who made claims of voter fraud central to their campaigns failed to break through, as did most newcomers who aligned themselves with Trump’s stolen election narrative. While many factors have influenced these results, the overall trend suggests that playing to voters who don’t trust the results of the 2020 election wasn’t a winning strategy by itself.
Election Deniers Are Largely Accepting Their Own Defeats
- Politico: Trump’s Election Conspiracy Boosters Largely Accept Their Own Defeats: Many of the nation’s most outspoken 2020 election deniers are staying quiet or conceding defeat after their own election losses this cycle. Prior to the election, experts had warned that democracy itself was at risk of being overrun by an army of acolytes of former President Donald Trump who would take a page out of his playbook and refuse to accept any loss. But with a few exceptions, and with some races yet to be finalized, that has not happened, heartening those who feared the worst. “I’m pleasantly surprised that several election deniers have conceded and some others that haven’t have at least seemed to remain quiet,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a nonpartisan group that works to support elections officials. In states including Michigan and Wisconsin — epicenters of Trump’s baseless claims that voting machines were rigged and Democrats stole the election from him — a number of candidates who fanned conspiracies about fraud in the 2020 election have accepted their own losses in 2022.
January 6 Conspirator Andy Biggs To Launch Leadership Challenge Against Kevin McCarthy While Donald Trump Mounts Anti-McConnell Campaign In The Senate
- Washington Examiner: Rep. Andy Biggs Expected To Launch Leadership Challenge Against Kevin McCarthy: Former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) is likely to run against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to become the next speaker of the House if Republicans lock down a majority in the lower chamber, a member of the powerful conservative group confirmed on Sunday. Biggs has been critical of McCarthy’s leadership in the minority, voicing concerns that the California Republican won’t prioritize issues important to the far-right flank of the party. CNN first reported the news of Biggs’s likely bid against McCarthy. “I think we need to have a real discussion about whether he should be the speaker or not,” Biggs told reporters on Thursday. “I think that his statement recently that we shouldn’t impeach Secretary Mayorkas indicates that maybe we’re not going to be as aggressive going forward as we should be. I think we need to have a very positive statement of what we’re going to accomplish and do, and I haven’t seen that yet,” he added. “That’s — those are things that I think we should have a very frank discussion internally about, where we’re going to be going forward.”
- CNN: Trump Mounts Anti-Mcconnell Campaign As Conservatives Seek Delay In Leadership Elections: Former President Donald Trump is calling up his allies in the Senate, GOP sources tell CNN, and making a suggestion as he seeks to divert blame for – Republicans’ lackluster midterm performance: Take aim at Mitch McConnell. Trump, who is facing a round of sharp criticism from inside his own party for hurting Republican candidates in the midterms, has instead sought to gin up opposition to McConnell ahead of leadership elections next week – even as the GOP leader has already locked down enough support to win another two years, which would make him the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history. Yet McConnell is facing new dissension within the ranks as a faction of Senate Republicans are grumbling internally about the timing of the leadership elections next week and are now calling for a delay – something that several GOP sources and a member of Republican leadership have signaled is unlikely to happen. The internal back-biting has prompted a new round of fears: That Republicans will be at odds over their future and hurt their ability to unite ahead of the December 6 runoff for the US Senate seat in Georgia. Some of Trump’s allies fear that his obsession with the Kentucky Republican will only undercut their campaign in Georgia, with memories still raw for many in the party who blame the former President for costing them two seats and the Senate majority in last year’s runoff in the Peach State.
Trump Wanted To Unleash The IRS On His Political Enemies
- New York Times: Trump Wanted I.R.S. Investigations of Foes, Top Aide Says: While in office, President Donald J. Trump repeatedly told John F. Kelly, his second White House chief of staff, that he wanted a number of his perceived political enemies to be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Kelly said. Mr. Kelly, who was chief of staff from July 2017 through the end of 2018, said in response to questions from The New York Times that Mr. Trump’s demands were part of a broader pattern of him trying to use the Justice Department and his authority as president against people who had been critical of him, including seeking to revoke the security clearances of former top intelligence officials. Mr. Kelly said that among those Mr. Trump said “we ought to investigate” and “get the I.R.S. on” were the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew G. McCabe. His account of Mr. Trump’s desires to use the I.R.S. against his foes comes after the revelation by The Times this summer that Mr. Comey and Mr. McCabe had both been selected for a rare and highly intrusive audit by the tax agency in the years after Mr. Kelly left the White House. Mr. Trump has said he knows nothing about the audits. The I.R.S. has asked its inspector general to investigate, and officials have insisted the two men were selected randomly for the audits.
Ahead Of His Planned Presidential Campaign Announcement Tomorrow, Trump Sues To Block The January 6 Committee’s Subpoena
- Politico: Trump Sues To Block Subpoena From House Jan. 6 Committee: Former President Donald Trump is suing to block a subpoena the House Jan. 6 Committee issued seeking to force him to testify next week. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday evening, argues that the subpoena intrudes on executive privilege still guaranteed to him by the Constitution even though he left office more than 21 months ago. The suit also challenges the committee’s authority on other grounds. “Former President Trump turns to the courts to preserve his rights and Executive Branch independence consistently upheld by the courts and endorsed by the Department of Justice,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the 41-page complaint. The select committee’s subpoena required Trump to appear for a deposition on Monday, though he had appeared poised to challenge that timeframe. Trump’s lawsuit effectively dooms any chance for the panel to compel his testimony, ensuring a complex and lengthy legal battle that is sure to last beyond the committee’s lifespan. The panel is slated to dissolve at the end of the year.
In The States
ARIZONA: Analysis Shows Arizona Precincts With Voting Problems Were Not Overwhelmingly Republican
- Washington Post: Arizona Precincts With Voting Problems Were Not Overwhelmingly Republican: The voting locations that experienced problems on Election Day in Maricopa County, home to more than half of Arizona’s voters, do not skew overwhelmingly Republican, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The finding undercuts claims by some Republicans — most notably Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for governor, and former president Donald Trump — that GOP areas in the county were disproportionately affected by the problems, which involved a mishap with printers. Republicans nonetheless argue that their voters were more likely to be affected, given their tendency to vote on Election Day rather than mail in their ballots. The claims come as Lake continues to narrowly trail her rival, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, and as the number of ballots remaining to be counted dwindles. Hobbs was up by 26,011 votes following the release of a fresh batch of results Sunday evening, with just over 180,000 estimated to remain.
FLORIDA: Andrew Gillum’s Legal Team Demands Hearing After Trump Social Media Rant About Rigging The 2018 Election
- Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum Legal Team Demands Court Hearing, Citing Donald Trump Rant On Ron Desantis: Former President Donald Trump’s post-election screed labeling Florida’s governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” didn’t go unnoticed by Andrew Gillum or his Miami lawyers. Trump, in a statement Thursday timed after the election and before his anticipated announcement of a third White House bid, credited himself for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ victory in the 2018 governor’s race, when he narrowly defeated Gillum. In addition to saying he helped “fix” DeSantis’ campaign after it had “completely fallen apart,” Trump said he also got the feds to intervene “when votes were being stolen” in Broward County. David Markus and Katherine Miller, who are representing Gillum on federal public corruption charges involving donations to his gubernatorial campaign, didn’t fire back at insults Trump hurled at Tallahassee’s former mayor. Instead, they cited Trump’s statement in a motion filed Friday in federal court saying it further supported their request for a hearing on whether the federal government selectively prosecuted Gillum because of his race. His lawyers asked for the hearing on Election Day motions that also sought dismissals on all counts.
PENNSYLVANIA: Doug Mastriano Finally Concedes 14 Point Lost to Josh Shapiro In Pennsylvania Governor Race
- Philadelphia Inquirer: Doug Mastriano Concedes To Josh Shapiro, Five Days After Election Day: Doug Mastriano lost the race for governor in Pennsylvania by 14 points last Tuesday. Five days later, he conceded to Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro. “Difficult to accept as the results are, there is no right course but to concede, which I do, and I look to the challenges ahead,” Mastriano tweeted in a statement Sunday afternoon. “Josh Shapiro will be our next governor, and I ask everyone to give him the opportunity to lead and pray that he leads well.” That was a shift in tone for Mastriano, a Republican state senator from Franklin County, who in the days after the election had used social media posts to complain about Shapiro’s campaign and media organizations that covered the race. Mastriano on Sunday morning retweeted a supporter who claimed that “the vote in PA was corrupt & robbed Pennsylvania citizens” of his service as governor.
What Experts Are Saying
Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist and co-founder of Bright Line Watch: “‘Democracy depends on losers acknowledging the legitimacy of their defeat,’ said Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist who co-founded Bright Line Watch, a watchdog group that monitors the status of American democracy. ‘Donald Trump and the denialism that has spread through the GOP have shredded that norm. That’s why it’s heartening to see candidates conceding — we need to celebrate these acts of grace.’” NBC News
Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: “Diamond reiterated risks to the state of American democracy due to denial of election results. ‘Many of these people are going to be in positions that could determine the outcome of an election and a state could subvert the outcome of an election,’ Diamond said. He further emphasized the importance of the midterm elections to the country’s democracy. In many states, ‘democracy was on the ballot,’ Diamond said. ‘It’s very important to be vigilant about the defense of the democratic process of free and fair elections.’” The Stanford Daily
Daniel Schlozman, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University: “American democracy was in a parlous state [Tuesday], and it remains in a parlous state today. We are skirting against the democratic guardrails. The distinguished political scientist Adam Przeworski defines democracy as ‘a system in which parties lose elections.’ The willingness of the Republican Party to lose elections—in particular the certification of the vote for 2024—remains a source of great concern. In terms of immediate threats to the next presidential election, I think some concerns have eased with the midterms. But democracy depends on players accepting the rules of the game, and it depends especially on conservative parties accepting the rules of the game. And so there is no viable alternative to building a different kind of Republican Party than the one that has evolved over this last generation. Building that alternative takes a lot more than particular candidates winning or losing the midterms. It’s a long-term effort, one that we just may look back and say began yesterday, but it will be playing out through the 2020s and beyond.” JH Hub Q&A
Thania Sanchez, Senior Vice President of Research and Policy Development at States United Action: “When you break the results down by incumbents vs. new candidates, it’s apparent that this year’s midterm was a referendum on the Election Denial movement. So far, new Election Denier candidates have only won around 5 percent of all races for statewide office. And there aren’t enough uncalled races left for that trend to shift much. That means that voters in an overwhelming majority of races do not want a new Election Denier in office.” As of 1 p.m. ET on November 10, 2022 | States United Action: THURSDAY UPDATE: In About 95% of Statewide Races Called So Far, Election Denialism Failed to Gain New Ground
Headlines
The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections
Associated Press: Election Day saw few major problems, despite new voting laws
Fox News: Trump blasts Maricopa County after Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly defeats Blake Masters: ‘Do Election over again!’
HuffPost: Large Corporations Spent Millions In Support Of GOP Election Deniers
New York Times: Extreme Candidates and Positions Came Back to Bite in Midterms
NBC: Republicans Who Questioned The 2020 Results Are Bringing Back An Old Norm: Admitting Defeat
NPR: LA County drops charges against election software executive, citing ‘potential bias’
New York Times: The Right-Wing Grass Roots Scored Big in 2010. But 2022 Was Far Different.
Politico: Trump targets Youngkin in latest outburst against a 2024 rival
Washington Post: Election Deniers Lose Races For Key State Offices In Every 2020 Battleground
January 6 And The 2020 Election
NBC: Jan. 6 committee staffers told preliminary plan for final report would focus largely on Trump, not on law enforcement failures, sources say
Other Trump Investigations
Bloomberg: Trump Knew of Alleged Tax Dodge, Trial Testimony Suggests
New York Times: House Asks Supreme Court Not to Further Delay Request for Trump’s Tax Returns
Opinion
Washington Post (Jennifer Rubin): If the GOP can’t get rid of Trump, maybe Georgia’s prosecutors can
Political Violence
In The States
Associated Press: Democrat wins Arizona elections post over GOP conspiracist
New York Times: Arizona Election Officials Call on G.O.P. Candidates to Tone Down the Rhetoric
Washington Post: Peroutka says he will not concede Maryland attorney general race
