23 STATES — At least 53 candidates who have denied the results of the 2020 presidential election are running this year for statewide offices that play a direct role in certifying future elections, according to findings released by States United Action. The nonprofit identified those candidates across 23 states, including five presidential swing states, among 39 states holding elections for positions such as secretary of state, governor or attorney general.

States United Action, which has tracked candidate positions on the validity of election results since 2022, classifies a candidate as an election denier if they meet at least one of five criteria, including falsely claiming that President Trump was the rightful winner in 2020 or supporting efforts to undermine results after audits and legal challenges were completed. "The goal is to be able to provide voters with the most accurate information possible," said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Action.

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declined a request from Trump to "find" 11,780 votes in the 2020 election. In Michigan, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had armed protesters descend on her home in the weeks after the 2020 voting ended. Both states will elect new secretaries of state and governors this year, and candidates who have denied election results are running in each.

In Arizona, candidates who deny election results are running for all three critical statewide positions. Andy Biggs, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor, voted against certifying the 2020 election results while serving in the U.S. House and contacted a state lawmaker to explore other ways to interfere with the process. In 2020, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey faced pressure from Trump to interfere in the election certification process but declined to do so.

Lydgate pointed to past officials who resisted such pressure. "We've watched these state officials on both sides of the aisle stand up and push back when Trump has tried to interfere with elections and election results in the past. We know that they will do that again. But it's incredibly important that we elect people who believe in our system and who believe in free and fair elections."

The number of election-denying candidates running in statewide races this year is lower than in recent cycles. After the 2022 midterms, Republican secretary of state candidates who denied the 2020 results generally underperformed other GOP candidates in competitive states, and a separate analysis by States United Action estimated that election denial carried a penalty of approximately three percentage points.

Research led by Brendan Fischer, research director at the Campaign Legal Center, found that an organized election denial infrastructure has developed since 2020 that moves candidates and lawmakers toward false theories about voting and policy responses to misinformation. "The election denier movement still represents a tiny, tiny minority of the country," Fischer said. "But it is an energized and active force within Republican politics. It's an organized interest group that [Republican candidates and lawmakers] need to be at least somewhat responsive to."