Republican lawmakers who plan to run for president in 2024 spent weeks in urgent talks with advisers while making the high-risk call on the possibility of supporting objections to this week’s parliamentary certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Why it matters: Republican sources told Axios that these lawmakers see Wednesday’s vote as potentially decisive for their political viability, much like the 2004 Democratic candidates fixed in the 2002 Iraq War vote.
What we’re hearing: Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz are betting that contesting will win the support of MAGA loyalists; Sens. Tom Cotton, Mike Lee and, to some extent, Vice President Mike Pence is concerned about the long-term damage to American democracy. They expect Republican Party voters to appreciate their general thinking.
The margin: Other aspirants for 2024, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, can afford to stay out of this fight, as they have no role at the Joint Congress Session on Wednesday. market.
A split screen of Lee and Cruz campaigning in Georgia over the weekend highlighted a division.
- Sources present say that Cruz spent much of his time detailing his plan to oppose the results of the Electoral College – a departure from the boost that the Texan should give Republican candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
- Lee, who announced today that he will not object, remained focused on the candidates. Utahan avoided any talk of electoral fraud.
Cotton’s statement on Sunday opposing the protest reflected another line: pro-Trump dissent. The Arkansan and unquestionable Trump defender is arguing that this move is short-sighted and trusts the base will hold it back.
- While Trump routinely defames his opponents, Cotton is a veteran and hawk who has been directly in the president’s corner throughout his term – until now.
- Cotton is betting that a sufficient number of Republican voters in the primaries recognize that a doomed challenge to electoral certification could backfire on the party.
- It is a risky bet because it already taking heat from the president and their supporters.
Pence is in a more difficult position, and he can define a third model for pro-Trump dissent by certifying Biden’s victory.
- Pence, who will chair Wednesday’s proceedings, did not say whether he would object to any results.
- A statement on Saturday from his chief of staff, Marc Short, merely stated that the vice president “shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities”.
- The comments were seen as more fun while the stance occurs.
The end result: Top Republicans are concerned that Georgia voters will not vote for Perdue and Loeffler – despite being enthusiastic about the false claims that Biden “stole” the election – because they do not trust the integrity of the election.