Michigan Republican congressman asks Trump to drop election fraud conspiracy
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Dryden, is among a handful of Republicans asking President Donald Trump to stop alleging fraud caused him to lose the 2020 election.
Mitchell, who did not run for reelection to a third term this year, represents a staunchly pro-Trump district in Michigan’s thumb region. The retiring congressman made several statements since the Nov. 3 election asking Trump to stop spreading conspiracy theories “for the sake of our nation” and criticized Republican leaders for undermining the election result without evidence.
Michigan and Detroit play a central role in unproven theories of election fraud asserted by Trump and his allies. A flurry of lawsuits and a campaign to delay the Board of State Canvassers from certifying the election results have failed to identify illegal votes or reverse Joe Biden’s victory in Michigan.
Related: What happens now that Michigan’s election results are certified
Biden won Michigan by 154,188 votes, according to results certified by the Board of State Canvassers last week. Biden’s margin of victory is 14 times larger than Trump’s 2016 victory in Michigan.
Trump alleged voter fraud in Detroit, a Democratic stronghold and majority-Black city, helped Biden win the state. The president claims he won Michigan but was denied victory because the election was “rigged” by corrupt election officials.
The Trump campaign filed two unsuccessful lawsuits in Michigan seeking to block the counting of votes and delay the certification of election results. Trump’s allies have filed several other lawsuits alleging a wide range of irregularities and illegal behavior.
Related: Fresh wave of Republican lawsuits seek to undermine Biden’s Michigan victory
Mitchell has pushed back against those claims in several statements posted to Twitter and an op-ed published by the Detroit News. Mitchell said Trump is damaging the country and needs to either provide “clear evidence of fraud” or “move on.”
“How about the party to which I belong, and it’s leadership, stop undermining the election and putting forth misleading information,” Mitchell wrote on Nov. 25. “Maybe it makes some people feel better about losing – sad. But it damages our country.”
The GOP congressman responded to Trump Sunday evening after the president claimed “Everybody knows it was Rigged. They know Biden didn’t get more votes from the Black community than Obama, & certainly didn’t get 80,000,000 votes. Look what happened in Detroit, Philadelphia, plus!”
“Oh my God. .@realDonaldTrump Please for the sake of our Nation please drop these arguments without evidence or factual basis. #stopthestupid” Mitchell tweeted.
Mitchell also denounced “conspiracy theories” that the FBI, CIA or foreign actors rigged the presidential election. He said there is no evidence that the election was stolen from Trump in response to a video of Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native, telling Georgia voters the election hasn’t been decided.
In another statement, Mitchell said he’s faced questions about his loyalty while GOP leaders question the election results. Mitchell expressed solidarity with other Republicans who spoke out against the president’s claims, including U.S. Reps. Denver Riggleman, R-Virginia and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.
“My loyalty is first and foremost to America, our Constitution and the importance of our election process. I took an oath to that – not to any individual political career,” Mitchell wrote on Nov. 28 after Michigan’s results were certified.
Most of Michigan’s Republican congressmen have not commented on Trump’s claims.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, recognized Biden as the president-elect and called on the Trump administration to support Biden’s transition to the White House. Upton was reelected in Michigan’s 6th Congressional District, earning 56% of the vote in an area that also widely supported Trump.
Mitchell’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday morning.
READ MORE ON MLIVE:
Biden’s focus on climate change could mean jobs for Michigan
Fresh wave of Republican lawsuits seek to undermine Biden’s Michigan victory
How Detroit became the central scapegoat of the ‘Stop the Steal’ crusade
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from MLive.com can be found here ***
