Politics

Five GOP Election Deniers Lose Gubernatorial Races in Key Swing States

By Evan Semones

After the Democrats’ decisive win in the U.S. midterm elections, five Republican candidates who had questioned or opposed the 2020 presidential results were defeated in their bids for governor in major battleground states. Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona, Congressman John James of Michigan, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity of Pennsylvania, and Congressman Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin all lost their races on Tuesday. Billionaire Rick Jackson of Georgia, a state central to Donald Trump’s 2020 election‑overturn efforts, also fell short. All five had either cast doubt on or voted to block Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020. Jackson, for example, called Biden’s win “totally ridiculous” and criticized Georgia officials for not complying with Trump’s demand to “find” extra votes. He said, “Our people really let us down,” when pressed on the 2020 election during a campaign event earlier this year. In January 2021, Biggs and Tiffany voted to overturn the 2020 results as members of the U.S. House of Representatives and signed a lawsuit that sought to invalidate results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. James was not in Congress when the 2020 results were certified; he had unsuccessfully run for the Senate that cycle, later won a House seat in 2022, acknowledged Biden’s victory, but in June told podcaster Benny Johnson that the election was “rigged and manipulated.” Garrity, elected in 2020, campaigned with Trump to reverse his defeat, appearing at a Pennsylvania rally on January 5, 2021, to call on lawmakers to decertify the results. A day later, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, echoing claims of voter fraud. Tiffany, Garrity and Jackson have since issued statements or clarified their positions and acknowledged Biden’s win. Biggs and James have not. Al Jazeera has reached out to their offices for comment but has not yet received a response. The midterm results may influence the 2028 presidential race. Trump, entering the final two years of his lame‑duck second term, is constitutionally barred from seeking re‑election. It remains unclear who will become the Republican nominee. Battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have alternated between parties in recent elections and will be pivotal in 2028. Governors in some states play significant roles in voting access, election administration and redistricting. Over the past year and a half, Trump has urged state leaders to redraw congressional maps to benefit Republicans. Democratic‑led states, notably California under Governor Gavin Newsom, have pursued their own gerrymandering efforts. It is uncertain whether the redistricting push will continue after Tuesday’s results. Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, who was term‑limited from running in this cycle, said on Wednesday that he would not call a special session to redraw maps before his Democratic successor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is sworn in. Trump, after years of casting doubt on U.S. elections, told The New York Times on Tuesday night that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the midterm results and pledged to work with the Democratic Party, which has regained control of both chambers of Congress. “We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” Trump said. “We’ll probably work something out.”