FINAL FRAUD FRENZY — DID TRUMP AND ELDER SUPPRESS THE GOP VOTE? California Republican voters may have been dissuaded from casting in-person ballots on Election Day by the baseless claims of a “rigged election” from both former President Donald Trump and Elder, whose website included a prominent link to a site that alleged a fraudulent election result before voting had even concluded.
Voter info guru Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc. told POLITICO that early in-person voting for Election Day wasn’t as robust as expected, and that “of course” Trump and Elder had an effect on the GOP turnout. “They’ve told their voters to vote in person. And now the largest day of in-person voting, they’re telling the voters the election’s over. It is insane,” Mitchell said.
Even before Newsom prevailed, some Republicans were adamant that the fraud claims were hurting their cause.Faulconer aide Ron Nehring called Elder’s website “the most irresponsible act I’ve ever seen from a CA candidate in my 20 years in politics here.” Recall backer Tom Del Beccarotold POLITICO that “anybody who discourages voters isn’t being helpful” and “the answer to voter fraud concerns isn’t to sit at home.”
STATE GOP CHAIR JESSICA MILLAN PATTERSON didn’t respond to requests for comment on the issue of fraud accusations. But she said in a statement that Newsom “was rescued by two presidents, radical left-wing Washington D.C. politicians, and campaign spending in excess of $50 million.” She deemed Newsom’s victory “hollow,”’ in light of “surging crime, raging wildfires, crippling drought, a broken unemployment department, shuttered businesses, lost jobs,’’ and more.