Obama Says Democracy ‘May Not Exist’ If Arizona Republicans Win
“This is not an exaggeration,” he added. “This is a fact.”
Because for the GOP ticket victory, the former president declared to a crowd of more than 1,000 in a high school gymnasium in south Phoenix, “It means election opponents who serve as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your lawyer.” general”
The Republican contenders for those positions were harder to accept than many GOP candidates in the 2020 election, claiming former President Donald Trump’s false claims. He has vowed to change how elections are conducted in this crucial swing state — promises he can make happen if voters put the state’s election system in charge.
A Washington Post analysis of candidates’ statements and actions shows that the majority of Republican candidates running for federal or state office this season — 291 in all — have rejected or questioned the outcome of the 2020 election. All but one of the 13 GOP candidates in Arizona have done so.
Carrie Lake, for the governor’s race, called anyone who believes Joe Biden won by 81 million votes a “conspiracy theorist.” “I think Trump is going to win in 2020,” Senate candidate Blake Masters unequivocally said in an ad.
When Lake was grilled about voter fraud in a recent ABC interview, she pointed to examples of election mishandling with little evidence of voter fraud, but conceded: “If we’re fair, honest and accurate, I’ll accept the results of this election.” An obvious choice. Absolutely. 100 percent.
Mark Fincham, who has identified himself as a member of the Oath Keepers militia group and is the party’s choice for secretary of state, has sought to require a hand count of all ballots and give the Republican-led Legislature the power to reject the election results. Attorney General candidate Abraham Hamadeh promised a “day of punishment” with a handcuffed image of his warning against President Trump in the 2020 election.
Polls suggest they are all competitive in Tuesday’s races.
Obama appears to have taken personally the GOP’s one-sided rejection of the rules of the democratic game.
“When Donald Trump won, I stayed up until 3 in the morning to congratulate someone who was against everything I stood for, but I believed in a peaceful transition,” Obama said. “I sat at the inauguration. Welcome to the White House. Because that’s what America should be. Did we forget that? Is that only one-sided?”
The former president asked, “What happened?” they asked in disbelief.
His comments echo those made earlier by Biden, the No. 2 in the White House. Speaking 2,000 miles away at Washington’s Union Station, the president said candidates who refused to accept the results of Tuesday’s race had set the country “on a path to chaos.”
The Democrats who appeared with Obama in Phoenix were also in a frenzy against the Republicans.
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic candidate for governor, said voters in Arizona have a “choice between health and chaos.” “Our opponents don’t believe in democracy,” said Chris Mayes, who is running for attorney general.