Following Trump, GOP congressional candidates refuse to concede

A handful of GOP candidates follow suit with President Trump and continue their fight after losing their races.

Nov 10, 2020

Across the country, Republican candidates refuse to concede although the elections have been called against them, following suit with President Donald Trump‘s claims of cheating and fraud.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Errol Webber, a Republican candidate running for Congress in California against Rep. Karen Bass, lost by more than 72 percentage points. However, the 33-year-old claimed he will not concede. He took to social media, another move from Trump’s playbook, to demand all votes be tallied.

“I will NOT concede. Every LEGAL vote needs to be counted!” he wrote.

https://twitter.com/ErrolWebber/status/1325872370297561088?s=20

Like Webber, House candidate Kimberly Klacik of Baltimore also refuses to accept the results which label her the losing party. Klacik, a Republican, lost her race against Rep. Kweisi Mfume by over 40 points according to the Post. The Trump supporter also took to Twitter and wanted an investigation. According to the report, she falsely claimed to have beaten her opponent.

“I beat my opponent on day of & in-person early voting, along with absentee. However, 97k mail-in ballots were found in his favor?” she wrote on Twitter, quoting a post where Trump himself made claims of a stolen election.

Agreed. I beat my opponent on day of & in-person early voting, along with absentee.

However, 97k mail in ballots were found in his favor? Luckily, we raised enough money to investigate. https://t.co/s4berP6VRm
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) November 8, 2020

Klacik had previously lost a special election against Mfume in April after the death of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings who previously held the Baltimore-area seat. Her profile was boosted after President Trump shared one of her campaign videos according to the Post.

John James, a Republican Senate candidate seeking office in Michigan joins Klacik and Webber in aligning with Trump in refusing to concede. James faced off against Democrat Sen. Gary Peters. According to the Washington Post, the race which started out to close to call on election day had Peters winning by the end of the night. He maintained this lead through Tuesday by 1.5 percent, or about 87,000 votes.

Although he accepted the results, the Republican hopeful shared “deep concerns that millions of Michiganders may have been disenfranchised by a dishonest few who cheat,” according to the news outlet. His lawyer sent a letter to election officials in Detroit claiming they had issues with the vote count. The Post reported James’ advisers also made claims and spread conspiracy theories about the vote.

Trump has not budged from his refusal to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. Not only are his actions being mirrored by GOP candidates across the country, but he also received support from party leaders. theGrio reported South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham believes POTUS should continue to contest the results of the 2020 election.

“If Republicans don’t challenge and change the U.S. election system, there will never be another Republican president elected again,” Graham said last week on Fox News.

According to theGrio Biden said Tuesday the refusal by Trump to admit defeat is embarrassing. The President-elect also said he does not plan on taking legal action to force the Trump administration out saying there is no need. He asserted the Trump administration’s actions will not hinder his plan to assume power on Jan. 20.

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