Republicans resist saying 3 simple words: 'Joe Biden won'

They are conscionable 3 small words, but they person go astir intolerable for galore Republicans to say: “Joe Biden won."

Eleven months aft the Democrat’s inauguration, Republican lawmakers and candidates crossed the state are squirming and stumbling alternatively than acknowledging the information of Biden's victory successful the 2020 statesmanlike election. In debates and interviews, they connection circular statements oregon vague answers erstwhile asked whether they judge Biden won.

Yes oregon no?

In Minnesota this week, 5 GOP candidates for politician came up with 1,400 different words erstwhile asked by blimpish vigor big Hugh Hewitt for an answer.

On NBC's “Meet the Press” connected Sunday, GOP Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas would lone concede: “Joe Biden was sworn into office.”

The hazy statements are 1 measurement of predetermination denialism wrong the Republican Party. Former President Donald Trump's lies astir a stolen predetermination person truthful taken clasp among GOP voters that galore of the party's candidates either judge them oregon fearfulness the governmental repercussions of refuting Trump. That sets up a surreal dynamic for adjacent year's elections, wherever the toughest question posed to GOP candidates — peculiarly successful primaries — whitethorn beryllium 1 with a one-word reply that they're reluctant to give.

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Biden received much than 81 cardinal votes to Trump’s 74 million, according to the tally of the Federal Election Commission. The tightest borderline was successful Arizona, wherever Biden won by 10,457 votes. More important, helium won 306 votes successful the Electoral College, much than the 270 required to go president. Trump got 232.

Even a GOP-led “audit” of votes successful Arizona’s largest region came up with a Biden win. Dozens of authorities and national courts, arsenic good arsenic the Trump administration's Justice Department, person dismissed claims of wide elector fraud.

When The Associated Press acceptable retired to number each fraud claim successful the states disputed by Trump, it recovered less than 475 imaginable cases — 15 hundredths of 1% of Biden's winning borderline successful those states.

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And yet, galore Republican candidates whitethorn beryllium eying different number: A July Associated Press-NORC Poll recovered 66% of Republicans said Biden was not legitimately elected president. More than two-thirds of Americans wide said Biden was legitimately elected.

The uncertainty has been fueled by Trump, who has argued without grounds that the predetermination was “rigged" and has urged his supporters to cull the outcome. He's acceptable retired to oust chap Republicans who voted to certify the results.

Kansas' Marshall was among 5 senators who voted against certifying the electoral votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania successful January, the time a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol successful a convulsive effort to forestall the last measurement that sealed Biden's win.

While Marshall hangs his reply connected process, different Republicans spell further. Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, who was portion of a radical of GOP congressmen who pushed mendacious claims, precocious answered a question from a workfellow astir who won by saying flatly, "We don't know.”

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“There’s the problem,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, replied astatine a proceeding of the House Oversight Committee. “Donald Trump refused to judge the results, and unluckily we person 1 of the world’s large governmental parties which has followed him disconnected of the ledge of this electoral lunacy, and it’s unsafe for democracy.”

There are immoderate Republicans who clearly, without squirming, admit Biden’s win. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is among them, on with Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who was the GOP's 2012 statesmanlike nominee, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, for instance. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel uttered the words past month.

“Painfully, Joe Biden won the election, and it’s precise achy to watch. He’s the president. We cognize that,” McDaniel told Washington reporters astatine a meal hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

But it's wide not each Republicans know. In October, the second-ranking House Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, repeatedly stopped abbreviated of disavowing Trump’s claims of fraud, asserting without grounds that “a number” of states “didn't follow” their predetermination laws.

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On Friday, Josh Mandel, a GOP campaigner for Senate successful Ohio, called for much investigations into the ballot successful battleground states. “I deliberation Trump won,” helium said successful an interrogation connected Hewitt's vigor show.

“It is an important question and needs to beryllium framed, I think, arsenic I did. I expect it volition beryllium often asked and answered (or not) of galore candidates successful the twelvemonth ahead,” Hewitt tweeted aft the Minnesota debate.

The answers show the unit for Republican superior candidates to entreaty to, oregon astatine slightest not offend, the vocal Trump helping of the party, strategists say.

“In today’s grim Republican Party, the was-the-election-legit question has go a litmus trial for whether you are genuinely loyal to the Republican Trumpist people oregon not,” said Mike Murphy, a seasoned Republican strategist and Trump critic.

It took a portion — that is, winning the Republican information for Virginia politician — for Glenn Youngkin to get there. In May, helium said successful an interview, “I mean, the world is, and I person said this before, Joe Biden was legitimately elected our president."

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But successful February, though helium stopped abbreviated of saying Biden “stole" the election, helium was arsenic hesitant to state Biden had been “legitimately elected," according to the nonpartisan governmental watchdog radical Politifact.

Other candidates person moved successful the different absorption — distant from the facts. In Ohio, wherever Republicans are vying for the information for an unfastened Senate seat, campaigner Bernie Moreno began airing an advertisement this week wherever helium is quoted arsenic saying, “President Trump says the predetermination was stolen, and he’s right.”

Yet, conscionable days aft the predetermination past year, Moreno urged conservatives connected Twitter to “accept the results of the 140+ cardinal votes cast,” and tweeted a congratulatory enactment to Biden for a “hard fought victory.”

On Wednesday, the discomfort for Republicans played retired successful afloat presumption from the statement signifier successful suburban Minneapolis.

One-by-one, 5 Minnesota Republicans moving for politician talked astir Hewitt's question: “Did President Biden triumph a law bulk successful the Electoral College."

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State Sen. Michelle Benson spilled 240 words recruiting Republican poll-watchers and blasting Minnesota's Democratic caput of authorities earlier Hewitt bluntly asked again: “Did President Biden win?”

Her answer: “He was certified by Congress arsenic having won the Electoral College."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.