Midterm election: How did 2020 US election deniers perform?

Republicans who denied the results of the 2020 US elections lost pivotal races to oversee elections in some competitive states, but more than 100 election deniers won their midterm races to capture seats in Congress, according to media projections.

An analysis by the Washington Post of candidates ahead of the election showed that a majority of Republican candidates running for public office on Tuesday denied or questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Current results show that control of Congress remains unclear. 

There were major setbacks for some of former President Donald Trump's prominent supporters. In Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano lost the race for governor to Democrat Josh Shapiro.

Mastriano organized buses to transport demonstrators to Trump's rally on January 6, 2021, before the insurrection at the Capitol and has backed Trump in repeated failed attempts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.

Mastriano promised to appoint a secretary of state who would wipe clean voter rolls, forcing Pennsylvania's 8.8 million voters to register anew.

Trump endorsed some 200 candidates and made backing his election lies a prerequisite for his support. Ahead of the election said he deserved credit when candidates he supported won and no blame if they lost. 

Election deniers compete for control over state elections 

In Minnesota, Kim Crockett lost her bid for secretary of state – the position that oversees state elections in most states. She had priorly repeated Trump's views on the validity of the 2020 elections. 

In New Mexico, Republican Audrey Trujillo lost to Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. Trujillo had cheered on Trump's effort to reverse the voters' will in 2020. 

However, in many Republican-leaning states, election conspiracists won the office of secretary of state. 

In Alabama, Republican Wes Allen was elected state of secretary. He had backed a lawsuit to overturn Biden's victory, which was dismissed by the US Supreme Court. In Indiana, Diego Morales, another election conspiracist, also took the secretary of state role. 

In Wyoming, Chuck Gray, a state lawmaker who endorsed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ran unopposed for secretary of state.

Eleven of the 22 Republicans running for secretary of state have repeated Trump's election lies. But, not all of those appointed supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rejected Trump's demand to "find" enough votes to take the state in 2020. This infuriated the former president who backed a challenger in this year's primary, only for him to lose to Raffensperger. The incumbent was able to defend his position from Democrat state Senator Ben Nguyen on Tuesday. 

Election conspiracists race for House and Senate seats 

By late Tuesday, more than 140 Republicans who backed Trump's election lies won their races, including House and Senate seats, as well as state-level contests.

Among those winning on Tuesday were Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Katie Britt, who secured Alabama's open US Senate seat. 

In New Hampshire, Don Bolduc, who backed election conspiracy theories, lost his bid for a Senate seat.

In Arizona, Republican Kari Lake spread election disinformation during her campaign for governor. The state's Republican candidate for the US Senate seat also vowed he would not have accepted Biden's win in Arizona. The winner of the Senate race in Arizona remains too close to call on Wednesday morning. 

los/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)