What California Republicans are saying about whether Donald Trump should concede
California Republicans in Congress are not calling on President Donald Trump to concede, at least not yet.
Some Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, were calling Biden “president-elect” even before the Associated Press and major networks called the race for Biden on Saturday. But days later, most House and Senate Republicans are holding back.
Trump has refused to concede, even saying he is the real winner of the presidential election. His legal team asserts, without clear evidence, that enough votes for Biden will be deemed illegal to turn the tide.
The president’s legal team has filed about a dozen new lawsuits in the past week, but legal experts say the efforts, even if successful, don’t appear to challenge enough ballots to change Trump’s loss to a win.
Most California congressional Republicans do not go as far as Trump in saying that he won the election. But nearly all of them say Trump has a right to legal challenges and recount requests.
Georgia is automatically heading into a recount due to the slim margin, and Trump’s team has already demanded a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden was declared the winner and is leading by about 20,000 votes.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, was one exception, saying before Saturday that “Trump won this election.” But in an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, his comments instead focused on the need to count legal ballots. He did not re-assert that Trump won the election.
The majority of the lawsuits were filed in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and Michigan, all states where either Biden’s margin of victory is relatively slim, or where a winner has not been called.
California doesn’t have any statewide elected Republicans, but does currently have seven Republicans in the House. Here’s what each is saying – or not saying – about their stance on the status of the presidential election:
Kevin McCarthy
“What we need in the presidential race is to make sure that every legal vote is counted, every recount is completed and every legal challenge should be heard. Then, and only then, will America decide who won the race,” McCarthy said on Fox News.
“They said in the House, Republicans would lose 15 to 20 seats. Every pollster said that, Speaker Pelosi and (Rep.) Steny Hoyer. They also said we would lose the Senate and we would lose Legislatures as well. But what happened? We didn’t lose one incumbent. We won every seat, except one open. ... We didn’t lose the Senate. We didn’t lose one control of any Legislature. Actually Republicans gained three new Legislatures of control of. And we have the most competitive presidential race in our modern history. That’s why every vote should be counted, every recount to go forward and every challenge should be heard.”
McCarthy’s office only pointed to those comments when McClatchy asked if he had anything to add.
Tom McClintock
“Votes are still being counted, and there are serious allegations of illegal voting and illegal procedures that could affect the outcome of the presidential election,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove.
“We have a well-established process to weigh the evidence of these allegations and resolve these disputes.
“This is vital to assuring the legitimacy of the result. This process must be completed before anyone declares a victor.”
Doug LaMalfa
“Rep. LaMalfa has not spoken to President Trump, but is deeply concerned about the reports of non-residents, deceased voters, potential mail fraud, and partisan poll watching, and agrees that they must be challenged. Every legal vote must be counted to preserve the integrity of our Republic,” said Savannah Glasgow, a spokeswoman for Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville.
“The Congressman is still concerned about potential irregularities in the vote counting process,” she added. “All legal votes should be counted in a transparent manner because Americans deserve to have full confidence in the result of this Presidential election.”
Devin Nunes
The office of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, did not respond when McClatchy asked for comment. But on Parler, a social media site favored by conservatives, he has been promoting calls for recounts and unverified reports of illegal ballots in Georgia.
“All votes need to be counted and verified!” he said on Parler on Monday.
Ken Calvert
“Republican candidates, from the top of the ticket to the bottom, have and will exercise their right to ensure vote counts are complete, accurate and legal. I expect the same from Democrats too,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, tweeted on Friday. “This shouldn’t be controversial.”
His office did not respond to a request for comment.
No response
The offices of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, and retiring Paul Cook, R-Apple Valley, did not respond to requests for comment by McClatchy. Neither has posted about the election results, recounts or ballot counting on their social media pages.
Garcia’s bid for re-election in California’s 25th congressional district still doesn’t have a projected winner. He was winning over Democrat Christy Smith by about 200 votes Tuesday night.
McClatchy reporter David Lightman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
.jpg)