Why so many “election deniers” lost in 2022

The everyday people who beat back the assault on democracy (for now).

The belief that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election is widespread among his most devoted followers. It rests on claims of massive voter fraud that have never been substantiated. And in the 2022 elections, many “election deniers” ran for state-level offices that have direct control over elections, promising to limit access to voting if they won. Of all Republican nominees for election-administration positions this year, over half openly claimed that Trump won in 2020.

But when the election came, the most high profile of those election-denier nominees, many of whom were favored to win, actually lost. And the story of why many of them lost is actually the story of thousands of ordinary citizens using the tools of democracy to protect democracy.