This series tracks prominent Republicans and associates of Donald Trump openly critical of the president’s performance. Read part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, part five here, part six here, part seven here and part eight here.
Usually we quote about nine different Republicans, but sometimes we don’t. Today we track opposition from within Republican ranks to Trump’s tweet yesterday: “Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
1. Mitch McConnell, Republican senator for Kentucky and Senate majority leader:
"Never in the history of this country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time. We will find a way to do that again this November third,"
2. Chuck Grassley, Republican senator for Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
"All I can say is, it doesn’t matter what one individual in this country says, we still are a country based on the rule of law and we want to follow the law until the Constitution is changed.”
3. Kevin McCarthy, Republican congressman for California, House minority leader:
“Never in the history of the federal elections have we ever not held an election and we should go forward with our election."
4. Chris Sununu, Republican Governor of New Hampshire:
“Make no mistake: the election will happen in New Hampshire on November 3rd. End of story.”
5. Ted Cruz, Republican senator for Texas:
“Election fraud is a serious problem. We need to stop it and fight it, but no, the election should not be delayed.”
6. Lindsey Graham, Republican senator for South Carolina:
"Delaying is not the right answer ... I think we can be able to safely vote in person in November."
7. John Wittman, spokesman for Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbott:
“Texas has adopted procedures and guidelines to ensure safe and fair elections, including extending the early in-person voting period, and the elections in Texas will occur on November 3rd.”
8. Paul Mitchell, Republican congressman for Michigan:
"I am dropping off my primary election ballot today. I feel safe and secure in doing so. @realDonaldTrump - no reason to mess with our election date."
9. Lisa Murkowski, Republican senator for Alaska:
"There is absolutely no reason to delay this election, and it is not going to happen. It's incumbent on us to ensure safe and secure elections, and that's exactly what the Congress has been doing."
10. Mitt Romney, Republican senator for Utah:
"The election will be held on the date set by Congress."
11. Lamar Alexander, Republican senator for Tennessee:
“If we were to delay the election past Jan. 20, the president would be the speaker of the House. So I wonder if anyone’s thought about that. I’m just going to go check the Constitution to make sure I didn’t misread it.”
12. John Thune, Republican senator for South Dakota:
“I think that’s probably a statement that gets some press attention, but I doubt it gets any serious traction. I think we’ve had elections every November since about 1788, and I expect that will be the case again this year.”
13. Adam Kinzinger, Republican congressman for Illinois:
“Reminder: Election dates are set by Congress. And I will oppose any attempts to delay the [2020 election].”
14. Thom Tillis, Republican senator for North Carolina:
“The election is not going to be delayed. We’ve got to make sure that we have the resources and we don’t have the debacle that we’re seeing in, say, the state of New York. The election is going to happen in November, period.”
15. Dusty Johnson, Republican congressman for South Dakota:
“Federal, state and local officials need to continue to work hard to ensure that Americans can vote safely, whether by voting early or on November 3.”
16. Dan Crenshaw, Republican congressman for Texas:
“It’s not even a question. No delays.”
17. Rodney Davis, Republican congressman for Illinois:
"There will be no delay in the #2020Election. Congress sets the election date, and it should not be changed. It will be held on November 3rd, as planned and required by law."
18. Kevin Gramer, Republican senator for North Dakota:
“I think that if you guys take the bait he'll be the happiest guy in town. I read it. I laughed I thought my gosh this is going to consume a lot of people, except real people. And it was clever.”
19. John Barrasso, Republican senator for Wyoming:
"No, we are not going to delay the election. ... We're going to have the election completed and voting completed by Election Day."
20. Marco Rubio Republican senator for Florida, interim chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee:
"He can suggest whatever he wants. The law is what it is. We're going to have an election that's legitimate, it's going to be credible, it's going to be the same as we've always done it ... I wish he [Trump] hadn't said that. But [the election date is] not going to change."
To be continued ...
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