Post-Donald Trump’s presidency, the party isn’t post-Trump at all
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskMr Mastriano, a former army colonel and current state senator, did not just believe that the presidential election of 2020 was stolen from Donald Trump because of voter fraud. He bused dozens of stop-the-steal enthusiasts to the president’s rally in Washington,, on January 6th 2021. He was photographed at the Capitol before it was overrun by Trump supporters .
Mr Shapiro’s conviction that Mr Mastriano was so cataclysmically unfit for office also led him to conclude that he would be the easiest opponent. He spent an estimated $855,000 on advertisements to boost Mr Mastriano’s chances during the Republican primary—more than double what Mr Mastriano spent on his own ads. Even though Democrats claim that the risks are existential, they were willing to make rather risky bets.
In Arizona Republicans have nominated Kari Lake for governor, a pugnacious former television anchorwoman whose campaign’shas been rejecting the “shoddy, shady, corrupt election”. In Michigan Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator, endorsed the myth of the stolen election before her primary—and has now moderated in the general election to a position of ignoring the question when it is posed to her. In Wisconsin Tim Michels refuses to say whether he would certify the result of the 2024 election.
Look farther down the ballot, too, and concerning signs emerge about the new Republican Party. Some of the candidates running to be, who oversee elections in many states, are among the most ardent believers in Mr Trump’s lies. They include Mark Finchem in Arizona, a past member of the Oath Keepers militia and another attendee at the January 6th rally at the Capitol, and Kristina Karamo in Michigan, who rose to fame after claiming she witnessed election fraud in Detroit.