In a gubernatorial race in Wisconsin, GOP candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany has adopted President Donald Trump’s language about “election integrity.” Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) is similarly trying to paint himself as a moderate in the senatorial race, but continues echoing Trump’s messaging.
“If our nation does not have security and confidence in our elections, then we do not have much of a nation at all,” he wrote on social media.
Ironically, Rogers was once a CNN analyst and in 2020 he was denouncing Trump’s claims as “falsehoods.” He even went so far as to accuse Trump of causing the violence on Jan. 6.
“Well, you’re damn right he has responsibility,” Rogers told Jake Tapper less than a week after the attacks on the U.S. Capitol
But on X, Rogers hedged. In response to Trump’s speech to the nation in July, where the president again claimed that the 2020 election was hacked, Rogers posted, “I am thankful for President Trump’s commitment to transparency. Make no mistake about it, there is no serious problem with election security in this country.”
Mike Lindell is running for governor in Minnesota after years of saying that the 2020 election was rigged.
Trump went to court over 60 times and lost every case trying to fight the election results. There were recounts in several states, and none of them found inaccuracies.
According to CNN correspondent Tom Forman, “Republicans by and large know that. And Donald Trump absolutely knows that he lost in 2020. What this is really about, Pam, is a loyalty test, making people who are running now say you have to acknowledge what I’ve been saying about 2020, that I was cheated somehow because I don’t want to accept it.”
He said that the “weird part” is that Trump’s losing six years ago could ultimately hurt them today because the overwhelming number of Americans know and believe that Trump lost in 2020. So, when those candidates have to pivot after winning Republican primaries, they have to appeal to that broader electorate.
Forman explained that voters will ask “how can I trust you when you keep insisting on this thing that we know is not true? Donald Trump lost. That’s it.”