Prominent election deniers are running again in 2024, but some have toned down their claims – By Adam Edelman (NBC News) / Feb 20, 2024
GOP strategists say the shift in focus could help these candidates appeal to a broader set of voters. Experts warn it could obscure their unfounded positions.
At least 17 Republican candidates who put false claims about the 2020 election at the center of their 2022 and 2023 statewide campaigns are running for office again in 2024.
But this time around, most of them aren’t making the debunked claims that the race was stolen from Donald Trump a linchpin of their pitches to voters. Rather, these candidates have generally broadened their focus on the issue, campaigning on ideas such as “election security” and “election integrity.”
After outspoken 2020 election deniers suffered defeats in battleground states across the board in the last midterm elections, it’s a shift GOP operatives say is critical for these candidates to appeal to voters beyond the hardcore Trump supporters.
“That message didn’t work,” veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant said. “Republicans want to win in 2024. They know they’re not going to win in 2020 — there’s nothing we can do now to change what happened.”
CONTINUE > https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/prominent-election-deniers-running-again-rcna138847
