NEW: As Congressional Primaries Pick Up, States United Launches Congressional Candidate Tracking on ElectionDeniers.org

Washington, D.C. — States United Action today launched tracking of Election Deniers running for Congress in 2024. ElectionDeniers.org now includes candidates who have advanced through their congressional primaries and will be on the ballot in November. So far, every state that held its congressional primary elections has at least one Election Denier moving on to November. As of May 20, the vast majority of Election Deniers proceeding past the primaries (73 percent) are incumbents.

“The Congress we elect in November will certify the results of the 2024 presidential election and the American people need to understand what that means for our democracy,” said Lizzie Ulmer, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Communications at States United Action. “In 2020, more than 120 members of Congress voted against the will of the people—and those people and others who share similarly dangerous views on our elections are running for positions of power over our votes this year. We hope this tool illustrates why we all deserve leaders from both sides of the aisle who respect the will of the people, and that includes in Congress.”

The Election Denier landscape, as of May 20, 2024:

• So far, 70 Election Deniers in 13 states are moving on to the November general election.
• In every state that has held a congressional primary so far, at least one Election Denier won and is advancing to the general election.
• Almost one-fifth of all congressional candidates that are advancing to the November general election so far are Election Deniers. After 10 state primaries:
  • 67 Election Deniers will be on the ballot in November for the U.S. House of Representatives. 50 are incumbents.
  • 3 Election Deniers will be on the ballot for U.S. Senate in November. 1 is an incumbent.
• Nearly one-third of Congress is Election Deniers (170/535 seats). They represent voters in 36 states—almost three-quarters of the country.
  • This includes 126 members who previously refused to certify the 2020 election results.
  • When no presidential candidate gets a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president. Each state delegation gets one vote.
• Almost one-third (51/170) of the incumbents who already won primaries this year are Election Deniers.
• 26 Election Deniers in 19 states currently hold statewide office with election oversight power (governor, attorney general, and secretary of state). 13 states will elect these statewide officials this year. 21 Election Deniers are currently in those races across 9 states.

“We’re only a quarter of the way through congressional primaries this year, but here’s what we know so far: 70 Election Deniers running for Congress are already heading to the general election. Voters in at least 13 states will have an Election Denier running for Congress on their ballots this November. We want to make sure voters understand what these candidates have said and done, and what the risk is of having Election Deniers in these roles. That’s why we built this new tracking into our research hub,” said Kelly Rader, Research Director at States United Action.

ElectionDeniers.org offers a full picture of the Election Denier movement in Congress and beyond, including where Election Deniers have power over elections; candidates who are running for president and the statewide offices with election oversight power; state legislative proposals to change how elections are run; presidential campaign fundraising data; and historical voter turnout data.

States United Action started tracking the Election Denier movement in 2022 through our Replacing the Refs tool, shining a spotlight on the Election Deniers running for statewide offices that run, oversee, and protect our elections: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. This work continued in 2023 and has expanded into ElectionDeniers.org.

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About States United Action

States United Action is a nonpartisan section 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with a mission to protect our elections and our democracy. States United Action advocates for policies that protect election integrity, hold democracy violators accountable, and prevent political violence that threatens to undermine the will of the American people, and amplifies the voices of state leaders and law enforcement leaders who share these values.