The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law has been tracking election deniers on next week’s ballot, from the top of the ticket down, and is seeing a disturbing trend: As the Democrats running in these races increase their lead in fundraising, the election deniers are increasing their false election claims and warnings on social media.
Daily Kos isn’t the only group to realize just how critical funding Secretary of State races is, though we were ahead of the curve. These races have gained in visibility since the 2020 election and Jan. 6, and since election denial become such a big part of Republican campaign orthodoxy. That was certainly a wake up call for funders on the left, and not just those of use hitting ActBlue every few weeks. Brennan Center finds that in the four races for secretary of state where the Republican is an election denier, the Democrat has outraged them three to one. Beyond the races for that position, the election deniers “losing the money race in most battleground gubernatorial elections.”
“Outside groups like super PACs are spending unprecedented amounts totaling several million dollars for secretary of state races in each of the key states,” Brennan finds. “Virtually all this independent spending is supporting opponents of election denial.” So that’s good.
There’s always a “but,” though.
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Here: “Data from social media platforms shows how central false election narratives are to some secretary of state campaigns, and their use is increasing as Election Day nears. And in a sign that election deniers are speaking to different audiences than other candidates, their online ads are more likely to target older people.”
Those ads are just about election denial, because of course they aren’t. Their ads also include “racist tropes like the notion that people of color and immigrants are dangerous or that Jewish or Chinese people have outsize influence over our elections.” These are the worst of the worst in politics.
It’s a really good thing that these candidates are being outraised, giving Democrats in the races a chance to raise up the profile of lines on the ballot that might be skipped over by some voters. Because while the lead in fundraising is encouraging, it has to translate into votes.
These are some of the most important races in the country right now, and it’s so encouraging to see that they have become a priority for more than just politics junkies like the Daily Kos community. That shows strategic thinking that’s been lacking among the big funding groups on the left. Which is another reason we need to make sure these candidates win—it will keep the big-money people engaged in these races! Nothing is more motivating than winning.
We need to help them—and all of the candidates in all of the offices that have a say in our elections—seal the deal and fight back against the Big Lie. Because they’re the ones who are going to be the front line against Trump’s efforts to steal the next election.
Please donate $1 to each of these Daily Kos-endorsed Democrats for attorney general, secretary of state, and state supreme court to stop MAGA election deniers from stealing the 2024 election.
The 2022 midterms are just around the corner, and you sent us a ton of fantastic questions for this week’s episode of The Downballot. Among the many topics we cover: which states are likely to report results slowly—and how will those results change over time; the House districts that look like key bellwethers for how the night might go, and which might offer surprises; why and how Democrats make the hard decisions on which races to triage; the top legislative chambers to keep an eye on; and plenty more!