By Joe Miller · August 10, 2022
Midwest MAGA Election Conspiracy Theorists Dominate in GOP Primaries This Week
During primary elections held in four states last night, election deniers planning to re-make future elections prevailed in nearly a dozen races called so far. Trump’s ticket in Wisconsin, led by gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels, generally cleared the Republican primary while GOP-endorsed attorney general nominee Jim Schultz won in Minnesota and a handful of MAGA candidates swept even in deeply-liberal Connecticut and Vermont. Stay tuned for our full primary rundown as election results are finalized. These lawless nominees pose an imminent threat to free and fair elections, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Ahead of a contentious Wisconsin primary, the GOP governor contest escalated into another high-profile proxy battle between Trump and Pence. The two former running mates visited the state over the weekend as Pence stumped for defeated former Lt.-Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch while Trump made an appearance in support of Tim Michels. Notably, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos fended-off a Trump-backed primary challenger supported by his own Special Counsel Michael Gableman, whom Vos continues to pay for Wisconsin’s sham ‘audit’ of the 2020 election.
Next-door in Minnesota, the state GOP also elevated prominent MAGA candidates for office. The attorney general race, already one of the most expensive in Minnesota history, pitted GOP-endorsed nominee Jim Schultz against fringe conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell’s attorney, Doug Wardlow. Schultz will face incumbent Minnesota Attorney General Keith in the fall, campaigning on expanding prosecution for so-called voter fraud suspects (at his discretion). As expected, MAGA governor candidate Scott Jensen secured the Republican nomination, and fellow conspiracy theorist Kim Crockett won her GOP primary for secretary of state after running her campaign on highly unconstitutional voter exclusion policies.
Elsewhere, in ongoing Republican efforts to subvert the will of voters:
Pennsylvania inched closer to a constitutional crisis this week as a fourth GOP-dominant county joined three others in a standoff with the state government by continually refusing to count mail-in ballots for a primary election held in June.
In Georgia, a federal judge ruled that statewide Public Service Commission elections unconstitutionally discriminate against Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act – a ruling the state of Georgia quickly appealed, despite only one Black candidate having ever won an election to the board. Georgia courts are busy this month, between Rudy Giuliani seeking to delay his testimony to the Fulton County grand jury, and MAGA Republicans launching a recall effort against the district attorney overseeing the Fulton County investigation.
North Carolina is facing a federal lawsuit challenging a state law that bars unaffiliated voters (who outnumber both Democrats and Republicans in the state) from serving on the North Carolina Board of Elections.
And finally, Trump-endorsed Michigan Attorney General candidate Matthew DePerno was revealed to have been involved in a voting-system data breach stemming from his investigation of Antrim County’s voting machines after the 2020 election. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is petitioning to appoint a special prosecutor to weigh charges against DePerno, who recently revealed that he wants to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters by “not counting” ballots received after polls close – that is, if he doesn’t end up facing criminal charges like fellow MAGA Michigander Ryan Kelley.
