President Trump said Tuesday that he’s prepared to accept the results of next week’s midterm elections, but only if the vote is conducted properly, raising fresh questions about whether he would recognize a Democratic victory.
“I will if they are honest elections,” Mr. Trump told reporters ahead of next Tuesday’s vote.
Mr. Trump’s comments come as he’s preparing to challenge the results in several states. He has never accepted the results of the 2020 election, which he still derides as “rigged” despite there being no evidence supporting that claim.
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He has ordered the Justice Department to deploy 1,000 election monitors to polling sites around the country.
That’s more than double the number of federal officials deployed during the 2022 midterms, when the Biden Justice Department dispatched 388 monitors.
In addition, the Justice Department has filed a preemptive lawsuit to block certification of the Senate election in Alaska if incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan loses. Another candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, is also on the ballot because Alaska uses a multiparty ranked-choice voting system.
Mr. Trump and fellow Republicans say Dan J. Sullivan, who switched from Republican to undeclared, is running as a spoiler aimed at confusing voters to help Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee.
Dan J. Sullivan was briefly removed from the ballot until a court reinstated him.
A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 70% of Americans lack confidence that Mr. Trump will accept the results of the election if Republicans lose.
The same poll found that 36% of Republicans say they’re not confident the president will accept GOP losses, along with 77% of independents and 94% of Democrats.
Despite the concerns about Mr. Trump’s acceptance, the poll found that 70% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans say they’re confident the election will be fair and accurate.
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