Pushing falsehoods about Biden's election is a plus for Republicans vying to be Texas' top lawyer

[Nevilledog]

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/24/texas-attorney-general-election-integrity/

Baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and rallying cries for “election integrity” have become recurring themes in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general — a job from which the state’s current top lawyer has sought to crack down on supposed illegal voting and joined efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Although there is no evidence that voter fraud affected the 2020 presidential election, Attorney General Ken Paxton and one of the candidates hoping to knock him off in the primary, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, have repeatedly doubted or outright denounced President Joe Biden’s win. Gohmert has falsely claimed that Biden stole the election, and the longtime Tyler congressman signed on to Paxton’s failed lawsuit challenging the electoral results in four states Biden won.

Hours before the U.S. Capitol was stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, Paxton said on Twitter that “a lot of voters, as well as myself, believe something went wrong in this election.”

A month earlier, in a statement attaching his name to Paxton’s lawsuit, Gohmert said “it is quite clear that this race was stolen from President Trump."

Republican claims of election fraud in swing states have been discredited by election officials and former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who said there was no evidence of widespread fraud that could have swayed the results of the presidential election.

*snip*