Veterans and Reservists Make Up More Than 28% of Candidates Who Question 2020 Election Results – By Sonner Kehrt (Military.com) / Oct 17, 2022
More than a quarter of the candidates on the ballot in November who have publicly denied or raised questions or doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election have served or are serving in the military, an analysis by The War Horse has found. These include congressional candidates from a major political party as well as candidates for governor, secretary of state, and state attorney general — positions that oversee elections.
These baseless allegations of fraud follow President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss by more than 7 million popular votes and by 306-232 in the Electoral College. Yet some veterans running for office have used their military records to add credence to their false claims — undermining faith in the very systems they swore to defend.
Election officials in every state have confirmed that there were no major electoral problems, a finding echoed in multiple Republican-led audits. More than 60 lawsuits alleging election impropriety have been thrown out. And an Associated Press investigation found fewer than 475 instances of potential voter fraud across the country, out of tens of millions of votes cast.
But claims of voter fraud and other irregularities in the 2020 election persist. Building on an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, The War Horse found more than 335 Republican candidates on the ballot this November who have publicly denied or raised questions or doubts about the security of the election — in interviews, public statements, or comments reported on in the press, on social media, or through actions that include joining legal challenges or objecting to certifying the electoral college vote on Jan. 6. Of these candidates, 96 served in the military — around 28%.
