“Republicans are worried that embracing Trump’s falsehoods could hurt their eventual nominee”
New reporting from CNN over the weekend highlights how Trump’s “false claims of widespread voter fraud” are escalating Arizona’s already “protracted, expensive” Republican primary fight.
Despite Republican concerns that “questions over the 2020 race will hurt” their eventual nominee, every single GOP candidate has “embraced some level of rhetoric” about Trump’s conspiracies in a race for an elusive Trump endorsement even after the former president lost the state in 2020. As one Arizona Republican lawyer said: “The audit is an albatross around the neck for every Republican running in the state of Arizona.” It’s the latest example of how Trump’s election lies are “taking over Republican Senate races” and causing headaches for the party.
Read more:
CNN: 2020 election becomes early dividing line for Republicans in crucial 2022 Senate race in Arizona
By Alex Rogers and Michael Warren
July 17, 2021
Key Points:
See also: Vice: Trump’s Election Lies Are Taking Over Republican Senate Races; CNN: Republican candidates back Trump’s election lies across the 2021 and 2022 maps; New York Magazine: Republicans Face New Litmus Tests in Trump Era; Washington Post: In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump’s false election claims
###