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The Jan. 6 Committee’s final public meeting put former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen back into the spotlight. Scores of GOP candidates echoed those claims as they ran for office in 2022, and a majority of them prevailed, although many lost competitive races.
An NBC News analysis of past candidate statements found 268 Republican candidates running for Governor, Congress or Secretary of State who either denied or actively cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. A majority of those candidates — 172 — won their races, while 96 lost.
But the vast majority of those who won were running in races where Republicans were heavily favored to win, per race ratings from the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and a political unit analysis of Secretary of State races, which the Cook Political Report does not rate. Election denying or doubting candidates were more likely to lose competitive races:
- Solid Republican/GOP-favored races: 155 won; 3 lost
- Lean/Likely Republican or Democrat races: 14 won; 13 lost
- Toss-up races: 3 won; 19 lost
These candidates’ success also varied by office, with such candidates finding more success in House races. Here is their record by office:
- Governor: 5 won; 12 lost
- Senate: 8 won; 9 lost
- Secretary of State: 3 won; 7 lost
- House: 156 won; 68 lost
The failure of Secretary of State candidates is particularly notable, since many were running for offices that would have given them power over their state’s election administration.
The three successful candidates included Republicans Wes Allen in Alabama, Chuck Gray in Wyoming, and Diego Morales in Indiana. Allen and Gray will have jurisdiction over elections in their states, while Morales shares election responsibilities with an election commission.
But other Secretary of State candidates in key battleground states fell short, with some faring worse than GOP gubernatorial nominees on the ballot — a sign that voters were inclined to reject candidates who cast doubt on the election results.
