Democrats are preparing to challenge the legitimacy of the 2024 election. Some have refused to fully commit to certifying the results if Donald Trump wins.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, challenged Trump's victory in 2016. He told Axios that Democrats would certify the results, but only if the election was "free, fair, and honest." And if Trump wins, Raskin said he "definitely" would have doubts about the fairness of the contest.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee, also raised objections following the 2016 election. He said Democrats would certify a Trump win "assuming everything goes the way we expect it to. ... We have to see how it all happens."
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), a senior Democrat who challenged the results of George W. Bush's reelection victory in 2004, said she is worried about the "shenanigans [Trump] is planning," and wants to "make sure that all the rules have been followed" before committing to certify the results.
This is a dangerous assault on America's democracy. Democrats are refusing to say—unequivocally—that they would certify the election results if their candidate doesn't win. The message to their supporters, including the violent left-wing activists rioting on college campuses, is clear: The election will only be legitimate if Donald Trump loses. There's no telling how these radical agitators might respond if Trump wins and they believe the election was stolen.
Democrats have a long history of refusing to accept the results of legitimate elections when they lose. Hillary Clinton still believes she was the rightful winner of the 2016 election and Trump was an "illegitimate president." Stacey Abrams has repeatedly claimed that she "won" the 2018 gubernatorial election in Georgia. (She did not.) Before he dropped out of the race this summer, President Joe Biden challenged the accuracy of polls that showed him losing to Trump, laying the groundwork to challenge the results, by insurrection if necessary.
We are literally shaking right now.