Just hours after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, 147 Republicans lawmakers voted to overturn then-president Donald Trump’s election loss, following months of his baseless claims that the November U.S. election had been stolen.
Since then, remarkably few have been willing to state clearly on the record whether they believe Trump was cheated by widespread voter fraud.
Reuters asked the office of every lawmaker who voted against the certification of Electoral College results the same yes-or-no question: Do you believe that Donald Trump lost the election because of voter fraud?
Fully 133 lawmakers of those lawmakers, or 90%, either declined to answer or did not respond to repeated inquiries. They include the two senators who led the coalition of objectors - Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley - as well as Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, one of the most strident backers of Trump’s bid to overturn the election.
Two lawmakers - Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia - told Reuters they believed Trump lost because of voter fraud. Two others who did not respond to the Reuters survey have explicitly claimed in public statements that the election was stolen: Rep. Louie Gohmert and Rep. Ronny Jackson, both of Texas.
Most of the 10 Republican lawmakers who now say they don’t believe Trump lost a rigged election had previously issued relatively mild statements that avoided any direct allegation of fraud. Exceptions are Rep. Lauren Boebert from Colorado and Rep. Madison Cawthorn from North Carolina, both newly elected in November.