For months, two races in Philadelphia have provided plenty of entertainment fodder. John Fetterman, running for the state’s vacating Senate seat, has relentlessly and creatively dragged his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Meanwhile, Doug Mastriano, an extremist MAGA candidate running for governor, has comically lagged in the polls. But recently a dark horse has been quietly elbowing his way into the scene, ready to sow chaos: Donald Trump.
A new report by Rolling Stone reveals that the former president — who lost the Keystone State in 2020 after winning it in 2016 — has been holding meetings and conference calls to plot how the GOP can challenge the midterm results…at least if they lose.
“If there’s any hint of doubt about the winners, the teams plan to wage aggressive court campaigns and launch a media blitz,” Rolling Stone writes:
If the Republican does not win by a wide enough margin to trigger a speedy concession from Fetterman — or if the vote tally is close on or after Election Night in November — Trump and other Republicans are already preparing to wage a legal and activist crusade against the “election integrity” of Democratic strongholds such as the Philly area.
Or he could always do what Trump did on Election Night: assert that he won, even if he didn’t.
Pennsylvania is just the beginning; Trump and cronies are also aiming to sow chaos nationwide. One of the targets already in play is mail-in voting. Conservative figures like Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin have already zeroed in on ballots that don’t feature handwritten dates, even though doing so isn’t legal:
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in May that tossing out undated ballots violated the Civil Rights Act by “disenfranchising otherwise qualified voters” over a “meaningless requirement” that has no bearing on a voter’s eligibility. The case led the Third Circuit to instruct Pennsylvania election boards to count undated ballots In a ruling last week, the Supreme Court threw out the Third Circuit’s decision but did not rule on the underlying legality of counting undated ballots.
Meanwhile, MAGA candidates like Blake Masters and Kari Lake have already refused to vow that they’ll accept election results if they aren’t the winner.
Since 2020, Pennsylvania has evolved into the nation’s key swing state, which could very well declare the winner in the 2024 presidential election. It’s worth noting, however, that neither Trump nor others in the GOP have given money to either Oz or Mastroiani’s campaigns. Perhaps they know that, should either or both lose, all they have to do is complain, issue frivolous lawsuits, and lie.
(Via Rolling Stone)