Repeating Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ Is Worth Supporting Republicans, Study Finds

In the Republican Book of Woes, 2022 deserves its own chapter.

With inflation scratching the sky and President Biden’s approval ratings deep in the trash can, the Republican Party was poised to seize control of the Senate, kick the doors out of the House of Representatives, and boost its ranks significantly in state capitals across the country.

None of this happened.

One big reason was lousy selection of candidates nominated by the Republican Party, many of whom sacrificed truth and personal integrity by repeating former President Trump’s “big lies” about the theft of the 2020 election results.

It’s embarrassing, yes. But did their bad behavior affect the 2022 midterm elections? New researchconducted by researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business suggests that indeed it was.

Analyzing the results of the general elections in 85 races across the country, the study found that Republicans who denied the election received 2.3% less support in the national election than Republicans who stood firm and refused to indulge in Trump’s insidious chatter.

This may not sound like much. But it was the difference in several intense competitions involving prominent opponents of the election, including in the race for US Senate and Secretary of State in Nevada, and Governor and Attorney General in Arizona. In each of these elections, the scoundrels and swindlers—let’s call them what they are—succeeded in a narrow, well-deserved defeat.

Looking ahead, the study notes that the 2.3% malpractice penalty for election lies was also larger than the margin of victory in several 2020 presidential fields, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, “assuming the nominations who deny the election in 2024 could be a devastating Republican electoral strategy.”

(At least in the general election. A study that analyzed races for senator, governor, attorney general, and secretary of state was inconclusive when it came to the Republican primary, where the results were mixed; a number of opponents of the election were put forward. while others have lost.)

Much has been said and written since the midterm elections in the collective exhale relief, after the most vocal deniers of the election were defeated in several key states. And the result was important and useful.

The Stanford study, however, embellishes the uplifting narrative a bit – Voters Rise, Save Democracy! suggests this (mostly) happy ending.

As the researchers note, the drop in votes for those who stick a knife in the back of our country is “small enough to suggest that many voters were ready to continue to support[ing] Republican candidates, even if they denied the results of the 2020 election.”

Not the best evidence of truth, justice, and the American way.

On the other hand, study co-author Stanford political scientist Andrew Hall wrote via email in a follow-up interview: “It is probably unrealistic to expect a large number of voters to sacrifice their priorities on other pressing issues (such as the economy, social issues, etc.). ) to punish these candidates.”

“Perhaps it is encouraging,” he said, speaking from the perspective of a half-full glass, “that a small but influential group of people have changed their voices.”

A study, a peer-reviewed working paper, is intended for publication in a public scientific or political journal.

It is not known how many candidates and campaign managers spend their time studying such academic expositions, although it can be argued that their number is negligible.

Nevertheless, the study is valuable and deserves to be expanded.

Don’t count on candidates to retract Trump’s “Big Lies” because, let’s just say, that’s the right thing to do.

Many in the Republican Party were fine with Trump using the presidency for personal gain, blackmailing a foreign leader to boost his chances of re-election (no impeachment. 1) and instigating a violent raid on the Capitol to overturn the results when he lost the race (no impeachment. 2.)

It wasn’t until Trump helped push through the disappointing November election results that more Republicans plucked up the courage and voice to come forward and began to distance themselves from the disgraced ex-president and his reverse Midasian touch.

The Stanford study adds weight to the notion that Trump and the candidates in his thrall will suffer for perpetuating their scam and corroding our system of democracy, which is a good thing.

The fine paid by the deniers of the election was not as large as it could or should have been, given the scope and significance of their fraud. It won’t stop every scammer and liar, much less the top liar, from continuing sow your political poison.

But even if the deterrent against it is relatively small — a reduction in a candidate’s support of just 2.3% — it could make a big difference.