2020 iowa caucuses

Lindsey Graham joins conservatives spinning conspiracy theories about Iowa's Democratic caucuses

Some conservatives are apparently rooting against democracy this time around.

Iowa's Democratic party still hasn't released the results of Monday's presidential caucuses, and it's leading to more than just mockery from the other side of the aisle. Several conservatives, including some Republican elected officials, are openly suggesting — without proof — that the whole debacle is just Democratic National Committee "rigging" in action.

President Trump himself largely stayed out of conspiracy territory, but members of his family didn't have a problem with peddling disinformation. Eric Trump tweeted Monday night that the Democrats were surely "rigging this thing," while Donald Trump Jr. repeated that unfounded claim. Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale also suggested that the Iowa Democrats' "quality control" excuse for the delay was synonymous with "rigging."

But it wasn't just a bunch of unelected figures planting doubt about American democracy. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime lawmaker who definitely shouldn't be doing this kind of thing, suggested all of this had to do with Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) apparent success in Iowa.

To be clear, there's no evidence that the Iowa caucuses have been "rigged" in any way whatsoever.