MAGA Playbook for Midterms Reportedly Used in California
7 reported
According to a single-source report from Mother Jones, President Donald Trump and his supporters have alleged election fraud in California’s June 2 primary election, focusing on the Los Angeles mayoral race and the governor’s race. Trump posted on TruthSocial that the results were “rigged,” specifically citing mail-in ballots that gave progressive challenger Nithya Raman a lead over Republican candidate Spencer Pratt. The article states that Trump also stormed out of an NBC interview after being pressed to substantiate his claims. Federal officials, including First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli, have publicly stated there is evidence of fraud, citing a case against a woman who pleaded guilty to paying homeless people to vote. Some Republican elected officials, such as Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh, have called for federalizing California’s elections. The article also reports that conservative legal figures have suggested the Republican-controlled House could refuse to seat California representatives whose elections are deemed fraudulent.
What’s reported
President Donald Trump posted on TruthSocial that the Los Angeles mayoral race was “rigged,” citing mail-in ballots that gave Nithya Raman a lead over Spencer Pratt.
Trump walked off an NBC’s Meet the Press interview after Kristen Welker pushed him to substantiate his claims about California elections being “rigged.”
Elon Musk tweeted about “fraud” in the mayoral race, linking to an X user called “Gays for Trump.”
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk publicly reprimanded a MAGA content creator for posting misleading photos from Detroit’s 2020 ballot count.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli claimed on X that there “is evidence of election fraud in California” and linked to a case against Brenda Lee Armstrong, who pleaded guilty to paying homeless people to vote.
Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh tweeted, “Federalize the election,” linking to voting results showing Raman ahead of Pratt.
Conservative legal figure Will Chamberlain suggested the Republican House could refuse to seat California representatives who were not ahead on Election Day.
Key figures
President Donald Trump
Nithya Raman, Los Angeles city council member and mayoral candidate
Spencer Pratt, Republican mayoral candidate
Karen Bass, incumbent Los Angeles mayor
Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for California governor
Tom Steyer, Democratic candidate for California governor
Xavier Becerra, former Biden HHS secretary and top finisher in governor’s race
Kristen Welker, NBC’s Meet the Press host
Elon Musk, X owner
Bilal Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California
Brenda Lee Armstrong, LA County woman who pleaded guilty to paying homeless people to vote
James O’Keefe, far-right video maker
Abe Hamadeh, Arizona Congressman
Benny Johnson, Trump cheerleader
Will Chamberlain, editor in chief of Human Events and senior counsel at Article III Project
Sources: motherjones.com
