One of the parlor games in advance of the primary debates of this election cycle is guessing how various Republican candidates might handle the question of whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. The former president has bet very heavily on intimidating his opponents — who fear angering voters who think that Trump was robbed — out of pointing out that he in fact lost the last election. (Never mind that, considering the issue on a primal level, a strong leader isn’t supposed to whine about what other people have done to him; he’s supposed to prevail over his enemies.)
There are different ways of approaching the 2020-election question, and politicians always have some wiggle room regarding what they’ve said in the past. It’s harder, however, to run from what they’ve done.
In that respect, an under-discussed fact of the field: Among the candidates who have announced, are exploring, or are strongly signaling a run, only one of Trump’s opponents has had to go on record on whether Trump lost in 2020: Tim Scott. Nobody else was in Congress. Mike Pence’s resisting Trump’s nonsense Twelfth Amendment argument was immensely courageous, but, at bottom, Pence’s position came down to, “Hey, man, I just open the envelopes.” Ron DeSantis and Asa Hutchinson (and . . . Doug Burgum?) could safely certify their states’ electors for Trump (who won Florida and Arkansas and North Dakota). Everybody else, unless New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu enters the race, was out of office.
But Tim Scott voted to count every Biden elector in every disputed state. He has already made his choice, and he ought to defend it. From Scott’s statement on his vote at the time:
I have been adamant in supporting the President’s legal right to pursue any and every lawful avenue to investigate, litigate and adjudicate allegations of error, fraud, or misconduct. This is rooted in my deeply held conviction that a country as strong, innovative and good as America should be able to hold free, fair, and reliable elections in which all her people can trust. The President’s legal team exercised its right to access the courts by initiating suits in state and federal courts in numerous states. Some of these lawsuits have even been presided over and adjudicated by conservative judges nominated by President Trump. Thus far, no justice, judge or fact finder has found evidence indicating the election results in those states should be overturned.
Republican governors and Republican controlled state legislatures across the country have upheld the results of their individual states’ elections. States have initiated recounts and audits with no significant change to the election results. The Electoral College has certified its results and still other judges, including judges and justices nominated by President Trump, have ended or declined to assert jurisdiction over these legal challenges. I am, and will forever be, open, interested, and desirous to see any new and credible evidence.