A worrying number of Republicans have indicated that they may not accept the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
The race is all but certain to be a rematch of the 2020 contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, which ended with a clear victory for the Democrat but that Mr Trump refused to accept.
The outgoing president’s denial sparked months of legal challenges, menacing phone calls and rampant, baseless conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines and lost ballots in support of his spurious narrative that the election had been “stolen”.
The feverish atmosphere boiled over on 6 January 2021 when a mob of Mr Trump’s MAGA supporters stormed the US Capitol, engaging in violent clashes with law enforcement while lawmakers assembled to certify the results fled the legislative complex in fear for their lives.
Mr Trump has already alleged that November’s vote may be “rigged”, effectively laying the groundwork for further denialism should he lose again.
Trump allies like JD Vance, Lindsey Graham and Dr Ben Carson have said they will accept the outcome of the election so long as it’s “fair”, but a number of fellow prominent GOP members have declined to make a similar commitment. Here’s a look at the Republicans who have signalled they will not accept the results.
Elise Stefanik
During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on 6 January, the New York congresswoman was asked: “Would you vote to certify, and will you vote to certify, the results of the 2024 election no matter what they show?”
“We will see if this is a legal and valid election,” she replied, going on to complain about efforts, then underway, to remove Mr Trump from primary ballot papers in Colorado and Maine citing an anti-insurrectionist clause in the US Constitution.
“What we’re seeing so far is that Democrats are so desperate, they’re trying to remove President Trump from the ballot. That is a suppression of the American people.
“And the Supreme Court is taking that case up in February – that should be a nine to zero to allow President Trump to appear on the ballot because that’s the American people’s decision to make this November.”
Asked if that meant she would only accept the results if Mr Trump won, she answered: “No, it means if they’re constitutional. What we saw in 2020 was unconstitutional circumventing of the constitution, not going through state legislators when it comes to changing election law.”
Byron Donalds
The Florida congressman was interviewed by Axios in March and revealed that if he was Mr Trump’s vice-president and in the same position as Mike Pence found himself on 6 January 2021, he may not act as the former VP did.
“If you have state officials who are violating the election law in their states... then no, I would not,” Mr Donalds answered, claiming that he “knew” some states did not follow election laws in 2020.
Mr Donalds subsequently told Abby Phillip on CNN on 23 May, when the question of accepting this year’s results was put to him: “My answer is conditional because you want to see the processes of the election go according to law, not according to outside groups and legal cases.”
Tim Scott
Speaking to Meet the Press, South Carolina senator and former primary candidate Tim Scott was asked on 5 May whether he would accept the 2024 results.
“At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump,” he said.
Pushed for a more emphatic commitment, Mr Scott said simply: “That is my statement.”
Pressed a third time, he repeated: “I look forward to President Trump being the 47th president – the American people will make the decision.”
Doug Burgum
The North Dakota governor, who like Mr Scott is a possible running mate for Mr Trump, took a similar line on 5 May.
He dodged the question on CNN and said that he was “looking forward to next January when Vice-President Harris certifies the election for Donald Trump”.
He continued: “I mean, the American people are the ones that get to decide these elections, but for both parties and for all Americans, we’ve got to make sure that every county, every precinct is beyond reproach, that everybody can be confident in our country.”
Marco Rubio
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on 19 May, the Florida senator – once derided by Mr Trump as “Little Marco” but who now says he would be “honored” to be the presumptive GOP nominee’s VP – was asked if we would accept the election results of 2024 “no matter what happens”.
“No matter what happens? No, if it’s an unfair election,” Senator Rubio answered.
“Senator, no matter who wins,” host Kristen Welker persisted.
“I think you’re asking the wrong person,” he said. “The Democrats are the ones who have opposed every Republican victory since 2000.”
Ted Cruz
The Texas senator got into a tense exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on 22 May after she asked him point blank whether he would accept the results of the 2024 presidential election.
Mr Cruz called the question “ridiculous”, then went on to argue that there was voter fraud in 2020, even if it was not enough to change the outcome of the vote.
“If the Democrats win, I will accept the result but I’m not going to ignore fraud regardless of what happens,” he added.
In the same interview, he insisted that Mr Trump “didn’t” attempt to block the peaceful transfer of power between him and Mr Biden, arguing that the ex-president went quietly (after the conclusion of the Capitol riot).
