What Went Down At The California Recall Election: Live Results

Former President Donald Trump is also picking up on the idea that Newsom is going to win. He just put out a statement saying that Newsom “will probably win.” That comes on the heels of a statement from Trump yesterday spreading false claims of fraud and cheating in the election and calling it “just another giant Election Scam.” This is the kind of rhetoric that Republicans blamed for their loss in the Georgia Senate races but that has since become much more mainstream within the GOP. That said, it’s hard to know how many voters are staying up-to-date on the latest Trump proclamations now that he’s banned from social media, so the impact yesterday and today’s statements have on turnout is up in the air. They’ll certainly get less oxygen than a nationally covered election night rally in rural Georgia.

Since I’ve long thought that John Adams’s retreat in 1800 is one of the greatest moments in U.S. history, the sore loser/voter fraud problem is one that seems likely to plague us for years to come. It’s really unclear how we can overcome it without significant work by Republicans. In 2004, there were numerous unfounded claims about Diebold machines, but John Kerry’s concession helped put the subject to rest among most voters. I’ve wondered whether constantly claiming that there is fraud makes it more likely to actually happen. Scott Walker made a lot of noise about the issue preceding the 2012 recall. The only criminal action was against one of his supporters, who voted five times.

That point is really important, Amelia. We shouldn’t forget that Elder’s embrace of voter fraud myths was a pretty calculated move to increase his support. He said Biden won “fairly and squarely” and then changed his tune when he got blowback from the base. From the outside, telling voters an election is rigged seems like it should dissuade them from voting. But from the inside of the GOP electorate, it can be an indicator that this is someone worth voting for.