PENNSYLVANIA — Today, Amanda Carpenter of The Bulwark published a round-up of the paranoia, conspiracy theories, and embrace of the Big Lie that define Pennsylvania’s “Super MAGA Trump” primaries for governor and U.S. Senate. From openly calling for a sham audit of the 2020 election to dodging questions about the validity of Joe Biden’s legitimate win, the Republican field is all-in on “auditioning… not to represent Pennsylvania’s interests but to represent Donald Trump’s.”
From The Bulwark:
“With Governor Tom Wolf term limited and Senator Pat Toomey not running for re-election, Pennsylvania has two major statewide offices up for grabs in 2022. Both the governorship and the senate seat are powerful perches that could be used to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Naturally, the Republican candidates vying for these seats are openly seeking Donald Trump’s endorsement—and he wants something in return: an Arizona-style audit in their state.
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“So, for the sake of our constitutional republic, and for the sake of people’s peace of mind, let’s just do it,” Mastriano told Wall Street Journal reporter Alexa Corse. “Let’s pick a few counties and put people’s minds at rest.” Trump praised Mastriano for making the trip to Arizona and called upon Pennsylvania’s state senate to act quickly, saying, “If the Pennsylvania Senate leadership doesn’t act, there is no way they will ever get re-elected!”
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The day he declared his candidacy, Barletta said, “I would love his endorsement, and I’m going to try to earn it.” When asked if the election was stolen from Trump, Barletta gave an answer he probably hoped would please the former president. “No one knows that,” he said. “Who can say for certain how much the election was changed to the difference that would have made? Nobody.”
When asked again if he believes Joe Biden was the rightful winner of the 2020 election, Barletta said, “Can anybody really say? We don’t know how much irregularities. I’m not saying he was or wasn’t.”
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It’s not just the gubernatorial candidates: Republicans hoping to replace retiring Sen. Toomey are aligning themselves with Trump’s election conspiracies, too.
When Fox News regular Sean Parnell, a former Trump critic, first announced his Senate bid, he said he wasn’t interested in relitigating the 2020 election, but that quickly changed. He joined Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast on May 21 and told Trump’s pardoned ex-campaign strategist that he would “absolutely” support an audit of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania.
One of Parnell’s Senate primary opponents, Jeff Bartos, has been doing some behind-the-scenes work to make the MAGA crowd happy. He funded GOP poll watchers while mail-in ballots were counted in 2020 and thinks denigrating mail-in ballots is a way to draw a contrast with Parnell and appease Trump. He’s using Parnell’s previous support for mail-in ballots against him, calling it an act of (here’s that word again) “sabotage.”
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It’s all theoretical of course, but the 2020 election could have gone much differently if only a few more Trump enablers were in the right places. And it sure seems like plenty of Pennsylvania Republicans are auditioning for just such a role—not to represent Pennsylvania’s interests but to represent Donald Trump’s.
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