How The Big Lie Is Taking Shape In The Arkansas Senate Race
A bit of background on some of the candidates running tonight who have endorsed Trump’s Big Lie, either by outright denying the legitimacy of the 2020 election or at least questioning the results. We’re tracking this for every GOP primary candidate for Congress, governor, secretary of state and attorney general this cycle. It’s a lot of work (and our colleagues at ABC News have been helping us). When we can’t find a clear documentation of a candidate’s position online, we reach out to them directly to clarify, and it has elicited some colorful responses.
Take Jake Bequette, a former NFL player and Trump’s pick against Sen. John Boozman in Arkansas. When asked whether he believes that President Trump won the 2020 election or the 2020 election was illegitimate, Bequette responded via email: “The 2020 presidential race was an absolute dumpster fire, it was illegitimate, and it was stolen from President Trump. There is no question that, unlike my RINO opponent John Boozman, I would have never voted to certify the 2020 presidential election. Instead, I would have proudly stood with President Trump. As we saw in my race just this last week, election fraud is real, and I’ve proven that I will fearlessly stand up for the integrity of our elections.”
Currently, Boozman is ahead with 57.5 percent to Bequette’s 21.6 percent, and 15 percent of votes are reporting, but this could still require a runoff.