After former President Donald Trump's fanciful claims of election fraud spurred a Capitol riot, many observers felt that there was no going back: From now on, conspiracies of fraud would be standard among candidates, and the possibility of danger would only increase.
Trump's most fervent supporters "represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic," President Joe Biden said in September. Days before last month's midterm elections, he even tied election conspiracism to the brutal attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.
