They Believe 2020 Was Stolen. They Could Be in Charge of Elections in 2028
A host of election-denying candidates are running for attorney general in states across the country.
Several Republican candidates running for attorney general across a number of key US states have repeatedly voiced their belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. These candidates could potentially hold significant roles in the 2028 presidential election. Christina Beeler, a senior counsel for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, emphasized the importance of the attorney general's role in upholding the rule of law and the election results.
In Arizona, state senator Warren Petersen has been vocal in his support for Trump's baseless claims of election fraud. He has previously signed documents asking Congress to accept alternate electoral votes for Trump and demanding the US Senate reject Arizona's slate of electors. Petersen also backed the controversial audit in Maricopa County, which ultimately resulted in Joe Biden winning by a larger margin than initially reported.
He has further signaled his intention to relitigate the 2020 election if elected, calling for an expansion of the attorney general's Election Integrity Unit. In Georgia, Brian Strickland, the Republican nominee for attorney general, has shared press releases calling for investigations into "fraudulent activities" in the 2020 election and a forensic audit of the state's voting process.
Strickland has supported the Trump administration's efforts to investigate the 2020 election, even labeling the FBI's raid on Fulton County's election offices as a transparency measure. In Kansas, Kris Kobach, who previously served as the state's attorney general and is running for the position again, has a history of promoting baseless conspiracy theories about voter fraud.
During his tenure as Kansas' secretary of state, Kobach claimed that an estimated 18,000 noncitizens were on the state's voter rolls, based on controversial research. In the wake of the 2020 election, Kobach was an adviser to Texas' efforts to overturn the results and assisted a Michigan Board of State Canvassers member in attempting to rescind her vote to certify Michigan's presidential election results.
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