Election deniers run for governor, secretary of state across swing states

None would say who won 2020 or if they’d certify 2028

Republican candidates who have questioned or denied the 2020 presidential election results are running for governor or secretary of state in at least six swing states, according to a review by The Guardian. None of the candidates responded to the newspaper’s inquiries about who they currently believe won the 2020 election or whether they would certify the 2028 results.

The offices at stake carry direct consequences for the 2028 presidential election. Governors sign off on their states’ election results and issue certificates to presidential electors; secretaries of state serve as chief election officials in most states, overseeing voting systems and the local jurisdictions that run elections, and typically play a role in certifying results. In 2020, Donald Trump pressured swing-state governors and secretaries of state to withhold their signatures in a campaign to overturn his loss to Joe Biden; those officials refused. If elected in November, the candidates identified by the Guardian would be in those offices during the next presidential contest.

In Arizona, US Representative Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for governor, voted against certifying the 2020 electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6, 2021, and pressured Arizona Republicans, including the statehouse speaker, not to certify the state’s valid results. Biggs has not straightforwardly acknowledged Biden’s victory, has repeatedly claimed without evidence that there is widespread voter fraud, and has cast doubt on voting machines. In prepared remarks on January 6, he called for an Arizona audit, saying: “The debate as to the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election has been suppressed by the left and its propogandists [sic] in the media….until today.” A subsequent Arizona Senate audit affirmed Biden’s win. He has reportedly sought a presidential pardon for his role in seeking to overturn the election results. He faces Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs in November.

In Wisconsin, US Representative Tom Tiffany, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, voted against accepting the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6, 2021, and has said he would have objected to Wisconsin’s results if given the chance. He has claimed without evidence that “illegal votes” were cast and counted in 2020. As recently as May 2026, Tiffany would not say whether Biden had won Wisconsin in 2020, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He also supported FBI questioning of election workers in the state earlier this year. “The problem with the 2020 election was the improprieties that happened,” Tiffany told the Journal Sentinel. However, CNN reported this month that Tiffany said Biden won in 2020 and committed to certifying the vote in 2028. He faces Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in November.

In Michigan, US Representative John James, the Republican nominee for governor, initially refused to concede his own 2020 loss in a US Senate race and cast doubt on those results. While running for governor, James has said the 2020 election was “rigged” and claimed Trump won Michigan three times; Trump lost the state that year. In 2022, James told PBS NewsHour that Biden had been duly elected as president. He has also claimed without evidence that Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson “rigged and manipulated the election process to defeat me and President Trump” in 2020. He faces Benson in November.

In Pennsylvania, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican nominee for governor, spoke at a rally on January 5, 2021, that called for decertifying the 2020 presidential election results. Her 2024 re-election campaign said she spoke specifically about a state Senate race at the time. She appeared with Trump and Mehmet Oz at a 2022 rally and said of the 2020 presidential race: “We know that he won.” Garrity told a local outlet earlier this year that there were “irregularities” in the 2020 election, though she said she could not say “to what extent.” She added: “But the president seems, you know, he’s very convinced that there was a lot there. And it seems like more information comes out all the time. But I’d rather look forward.” Garrity told CNN this month: “As I have said repeatedly since the 2020 election, I am painfully aware that Joe Biden was elected president.” She faces Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro in November.

Three Republicans who have questioned or denied the 2020 results are running for secretary of state. In Arizona, state Representative Alex Kolodin served as legal counsel on lawsuits seeking to overturn the state’s 2020 results and represented some of the fake electors who were charged by state Attorney General Kris Mayes; that case was dismissed earlier this year. Kolodin was disciplined by the Arizona State Bar, including a period of probation and required ethics courses, and dismissed the complaints as made by “radical left-wing activists.” He faces Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in November.

In Georgia, healthcare executive Rick Jackson won the Republican runoff for secretary of state after defeating Burt Jones, who was one of the state’s fake electors. Jackson attacked outgoing Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — who refused to give in to Trump’s pressure in 2020 — calling him a “Judas” in campaign ads. Per Politico, Jackson has said: “That was totally ridiculous what happened in 2020 and our people really let us down.” Jackson’s campaign told CNN that he “acknowledges both Biden’s win and that there were issues in the 2020 election that needed to be resolved in order to ensure Georgians have faith in our electoral system.” He faces Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in November.

In Nevada, state lawmaker Jim Marchant, a prominent election denier whom The Guardian describes as “far-right,” is the Republican nominee for secretary of state. He previously sought the office in 2022, losing to Democrat Cisco Aguilar, whom he will face again. He was part of a coalition of Republican secretary of state candidates in swing states who supported Trump’s claim that the 2020 election had been stolen. After losing a 2020 US House bid, Marchant sued over his loss and tried, unsuccessfully, to redo the election. He supported the fake-elector scheme in 2020 and told the Guardian in 2022 that it was “very possible” he would be prepared to do the same in 2024 if he won. Marchant has also said he believes voting machines are manipulated and that judges were “bought off” when they sided against lawsuits seeking to overturn the 2020 results.

The Guardian’s review also found other Republicans tied to the post-2020 disputes on the ballot this year, including Warren Petersen, the Arizona Senate president who launched the state’s 2020 election audit and is now the Republican nominee for attorney general. The Arizona attorney general’s case against the fake electors, whom some of the secretary of state candidates served, was dismissed earlier this year.