Leubsdorf: Republicans running 2020 election deniers in key states

The Supreme Court’s decision blocking the Trump plan to use the Post Office to screen mail ballot applications has removed one of the major threats to a free and open 2026 mid-term election.

But President Donald Trump hasn’t fully ruled out other ways of interfering with the states’ constitutional role in elections, and some critics fear he will try afterwards to challenge close results as fraudulent.

At the same time, voters in several key electoral states face decisions that could affect longer-term election integrity – the candidacies of 2020 election deniers seeking to win offices with authority over their elections.

In Arizona and Wisconsin, Republicans nominated gubernatorial candidates who voted in Congress to uphold Trump’s disproven lie that a rigged election denied him victory in 2020. GOP nominees for governor in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania criticized that election to a lesser degree.

In several states — including Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Colorado — Republicans nominated election deniers for Secretary of State, the state official who plays the largest role in managing their state’s elections.

Election of any – or all – of them could create problems in 2028, when Trump’s GOP will attempt to extend its hold on the presidency for another four years.

Though successful presidential nominees must win states that total at least 270 electoral votes, most recent elections have come down to a handful of those states.

In 2024, Trump won all of the seven most closely contested states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Most loom again as crucial in 2028, and all but North Carolina are electing state officials next month.

But they are not the only states with Republican nominees who rejected Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump.

In Colorado, a safely Democratic state in recent elections, Republican nominated election denier James Wiley for secretary of state, the office that runs its elections. But Colorado Democrats are expected to win all top state offices next month.

Safely Republican Alabama is likely to elect as Governor GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach who voted against accepting the 2020 results as a freshman senator in 2021. But Alabama is unlikely to be influential in 2028.

Several other election deniers are running for Congress, which will need to certify the 2028 electoral vote.

States holding elections next month in which election deniers could affect their 2028 presidential outcomes include:

Arizona: The GOP nominee for governor, Rep. Andy Biggs, voted in 2021 against accepting Biden’s victories in his home state and Pennsylvania and has been one of Trump’s most outspoken House supporters. He is considered an underdog against incumbent Democratic Gov. Nancy Hobbs.

The Republican nominee for secretary of state, Alex Kolodin, was the counsel for groups seeking to overturn Biden’s narrow 2020 victory over Trump. He also represented some members of a pro-Trump electoral slate which unsuccessfully sought acceptance from Congress. He is challenging incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes.

Georgia: In the state where Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resisted Trump’s request to switch enough votes to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory, Republicans have nominated candidates with more nuanced records.

Gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson, a wealthy healthcare executive, criticized rival Raffensperger in the primary campaign as a “Judas.” He both acknowledged Biden’s 2020 win and criticized the way the election was handled.

Tim Fleming defeated an ardent election denier to become the GOP nominee to succeed Raffensperger. He hasn’t acknowledged Biden’s victory and criticized “irregularities” in Georgia’s handling of the election.

Michigan: The GOP nominee for governor, Rep. John James, called the 2020 election “rigged” and said Trump won Michigan three times (he lost it in 2020) though he earlier said Biden won.

He is running against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a strong critic of the election denier movement.

In the race to succeed her, Democratic Lt. Gov. Carlin Gilchrist is running against Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, who won’t concede Biden won and hired a woman involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to train poll workers.

Nevada: Republicans nominated Jim Marchant, an outspoken 2020 election denier, for secretary of state against Democratic incumbent Cisco Aguilar, who defeated Marchant in 2022.

He was one of several GOP secretaries of state candidates in key states who supported Trump’s contention the election was stolen.

Pennsylvania: The GOP candidate for governor, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, said at a 2022 rally with Trump that “We know that he won,” according to the voting rights group, Democracy Docket. More recently, she told CNN, “I am painfully aware that Joe Biden was elected president.”

The Pennsylvania governor appoints the secretary of state, who runs its elections. Polls show her trailing by double digits against the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Wisconsin: The Republican gubernatorial nominee, Rep. Tom Tiffany, also voted against accepting the Biden electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania. He is running against Democrat David Crowley in what polls show is a close race.

Wisconsin elections are run by a commission named by the governor and legislative leaders. But Jay Schroeder, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, hopes to enhance that office’s election role. A self-styled “MAGA activist,” he says he would not have certified Biden’s 2020 victory in the state.

Four years ago, voters in the same key states rejected several Republican candidates who backed Trump’s false claim that he won in 2020. This year, they are fortunately poised to do the same.