Chuck Darwin<p>Mike Johnson’s groveling meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday:</p><p>It was a deeply weird affair. With Trump hovering watchfully over Johnson, the House Speaker said that in campaigning, he’s discovered that people across the country just happen to be thoroughly obsessed with precisely the same thing that preoccupies Trump. </p><p>“Everywhere we go, one of the first questions that people ask about is this issue of <a href="https://c.im/tags/election" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>election</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/integrity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>integrity</span></a>,” Johnson said.</p><p>The GOP remains as committed as ever to their disturbing post-insurrection denial path. </p><p>At least a dozen Republican incumbents or prominent candidates in competitive races are tainted with <a href="https://c.im/tags/election" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>election</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/denialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>denialism</span></a>, some of it extremely serious or even <a href="https://c.im/tags/deranged" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>deranged</span></a>.</p><p>These include representatives like <a href="https://c.im/tags/Scott" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Scott</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Perry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Perry</span></a> of Pennsylvania, who was extensively involved in Trump’s coup, <a href="https://c.im/tags/Anna" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Anna</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Paulina" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Paulina</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Luna" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Luna</span></a> of Florida, who co-wrote a children’s book falsely depicting the 2020 election as stolen, and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Derrick" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Derrick</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Van" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Van</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Orden" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Orden</span></a> of Wisconsin, who attended the Capitol rally on January 6.</p><p>Meanwhile, GOP Representatives <a href="https://c.im/tags/Mike" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mike</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Garcia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Garcia</span></a> and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Ken" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ken</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Calvert" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Calvert</span></a> of California, and <a href="https://c.im/tags/David" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>David</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Schweikert" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Schweikert</span></a> of Arizona, all voted not to certify Biden’s electors. </p><p>Representative <a href="https://c.im/tags/Jen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Jen</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Kiggans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Kiggans</span></a> of Virginia repeatedly fed doubts about the 2020 outcome. </p><p>Democrats view all these as key targets.</p><p>Then there are election-denying GOP candidates in other top-tier races, such as <a href="https://c.im/tags/Scott" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Scott</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Baugh" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Baugh</span></a> in California, who refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory, <a href="https://c.im/tags/Joe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Joe</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Kent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Kent</span></a> in Washington State, who called for the rioters to be pardoned, and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Mayra" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mayra</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Flores" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Flores</span></a> in Texas, who spread crackpot January 6th conspiracy theories. That’s only a partial list.</p><p>Could this factor help tip the balance of the House? It’s not all that far-fetched a possibility.</p><p>Dave Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst at Cook Political Report, suggests keeping an eye on the GOP primary underway in the district of Representative <a href="https://c.im/tags/Lauren" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Lauren</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Boebert" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Boebert</span></a> (who is running in another district). <br>That pits wild-eyed election denier <a href="https://c.im/tags/Ron" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ron</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Hanks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hanks</span></a> against a saner opponent. <br>If Hanks wins, Democrats have a “very good chance” of winning Boebert’s seat, Wasserman says.</p><p>The upshot? As Wasserman notes, election denialism might end up mattering in only a limited number of races. </p><p>But, he adds, “the margin in the House is so close right now that even things like that could affect the outcome.”</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/180690/trump-mike-johnson-election-denial" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">newrepublic.com/article/180690</span><span class="invisible">/trump-mike-johnson-election-denial</span></a></p>