Trump's stolen election claims drive record fundraising in secretary of state races


Former President Donald Trump's baseless claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2020 election are raising the stakes in swing-state secretary of state races, with Democratic and Republican candidates alike pulling in record-breaking fundraising hauls, HuffPost reports.
As President Biden pushes his voting rights bills in Congress and Republican-controlled state legislatures pass new election security laws, secretaries of state — who oversee statewide elections — find themselves in the national spotlight like never before.
According to an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice, secretary of state candidates in Georgia, Michigan, and Minnesota have "collectively raised 2.5 times more than candidates had at a comparable point in 2014 or 2018 election cycles," writes HuffPost.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a statement posted on his website Monday, Trump claimed Georgia and Michigan are states in which "the fraudulent and irregular votes are massive." The following day, he released another statement falsely asserting that "Biden actually lost BIG in Georgia."
Trump lost both states in 2020.
The Brennan analysis also notes that the best-funded candidate in the Georgia race, Jody Hice, is also the field's most vocal supporter of Trump's stolen election narrative. "I believe if there was a fair election, it would be a different outcome," Hice told CNN in May. When asked if he believed Trump won Georgia, his response was "Absolutely."
Bee Nguyen, a Democrat running for Georgia secretary of state, tweeted Wednesday that she is running to prevent "the subversion of our democracy" and "uphold the will of the people."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
During a Tuesday interview with NPR, Trump was asked whether he would only offer his endorsements to candidates in the 2022 midterms who supported his claims about the 2020 election. Trump's reply was evasive. "What they have to do, they're going to do," the former president said before cutting the interview short.
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
AI workslop is muddying the American workplace
The explainer Using AI may create more work for others
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime minister
Speed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
The 5 best mob movies of all time
The Week Recommends If you don’t like a good gangster flick, just fuhgeddaboudit
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal