By Joe Miller · July 27, 2022
This Week: MAGA Republicans Triple Down on Election Lies for Upcoming Primaries
Over the past week, MAGA Republicans continued to dominate primary races, seeking to nominate election conspiracy theorists in key states. As primary voters head to the polls in Arizona this week, Trump and his MAGA allies are fighting to solidify their influence over the state GOP. The Arizona GOP censured state House Speaker Rusty Bowers last week for testifying before the Jan. 6 Committee, endorsing his primary opponent in a decision spearheaded by MAGA Arizona GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward (who is currently under investigation by the Committee). Last weekend, Trump flew in to stump for MAGA candidates Kari Lake (governor) and Blake Masters (Senate), while Pence held two events with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in support of election skeptic candidate Karrin Taylor Robson (governor). Ahead of the dueling Arizona rallies Trump attacked Pence for refusing to overturn the 2020 election on Jan. 6, less than 12 hours after the Committee revealed that Pence’s security detail feared for their lives that day.
Speaking of overturning the 2020 election, two Wisconsin legislators have followed far-right state Senator & GOP governor candidate Timothy Ramthun in calling for the decertification of Wisconsin’s 2020 election results over the past week. State Rep. Chuck Wichgers, chairman of the Assembly constitution & ethics committee, joins elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen in supporting Ramthun’s illegal and constitutionally-impossible maneuver to overturn legitimate election results nearly two years after the fact.
In Michigan, primary voters are also headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose their nominees. In the Michigan GOP governor primary, Jan. 6 attendee Ryan Kelley will remain on the ballot this week after the state Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit asking to find Kelley ineligible to run for governor as an insurrectionist, given Kelley’s arrest on three misdemeanor charges for climbing the Capitol building during the insurrection. Campaign finance reports released on Monday showed both Kelley and Trump-aligned Tudor Dixon trailing election denier Kevin Rinke in spending, but the race is wide-open – no candidate has cracked 20% in recent polling.
Elsewhere, in Republican efforts to subvert the will of voters:
The Republican National Committee, which was banned from training poll watchers for 36 years until 2020, is recruiting and training thousands of MAGA poll observers across Georgia.
In Pennsylvania, state elections officials are facing insider threats from their own offices and harassment from MAGA constituents, in addition to paper shortages due to supply chain disruptions.
New data shows Utah Senator and Jan. 6 co-conspirator Mike Lee in a much tighter race for re-election than expected, polling within five points of his competitor Evan McMullin in a deeply conservative state.
And finally, Trump endorsed Tim Michels for Wisconsin governor this week, in an attempt to break the tie between Michels and former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch with less than two weeks to go until the August 9 GOP primary.
