In the 2022 midterm elections, an unprecedented number of Republican candidates denied or cast doubt on the results of the latest presidential election, spread false conspiracy theories about the nation’s voting systems and, in many cases, questioned the legitimacy of American democracy itself.
While a majority of them won, nearly all of the highest-profile candidates lost in what was seen as a national rebuke of the movement.
But losing did not seem to deter many of them.
Six months later, many are considering a return to the campaign trail or continuing to build popularity and power in conservative circles.
“They may have lost an election, but they gained a platform,” said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Action, a nonpartisan group that advocates for protecting U.S. elections and tracks election deniers. “We’re starting to see some of these defeated candidates seeking power outside of government, and they’re still pushing lies and conspiracy theories about elections. So we have to stay vigilant.”
Here’s a rundown of what some of the highest-profile election-denying candidates have done since the midterm elections:
1. Kari Lake
Midterm office sought: Arizona governor
© David Blakeman for The Washington Post
Kari Lake lost her race for Arizona governor, refused to accept the defeat and is now eyeing a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Independent Kyrsten Sinema.
One of the breakout right-wing stars of the 2022 midterms, Lake narrowly lost her bid for Arizona governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs, who took office in January. Lake challenged the outcome in state court, claiming widespread irregularities. The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to hear the majority of Lake’s claims and sent one part of her challenge to trial court for review.
Despite her loss, Lake is now a powerhouse in the party. She is considered a top contender for the Republican nomination for Senate in Arizona, a bid that excites the party’s base but worries strategists who fear she cannot win the highly competitive seat.
She was a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s 2023 Reagan dinner in March and won CPAC’s straw poll for vice-presidential nominations. Lake has appeared alongside former president Donald Trump at several recent events and has been discussed as a potential vice-presidential pick.
2. Kristina Karamo
Midterm office sought: Michigan secretary of state
© Sarah Rice for The Washington Post
Kristina Karamo, who lost a race for Michigan secretary of state, is the leader of the state’s Republican Party.
Karamo, a former Detroit-area community college instructor, lost to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D). She campaigned on claims that she witnessed fraud in the 2020 presidential election while working as an election challenger who formally observed the voting process. A Michigan GOP–run Senate investigation and 250 audits by Michigan’s secretary of state each found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Karamo has not yet conceded her race, claiming without evidence that the election was contaminated by fraud. She brought a lawsuit calling for all of Detroit’s absentee ballots cast in the 2022 midterms to be rejected, which a judge rejected in court and deemed “intolerable.”
In February, Michigan Republicans elected Karamo as chair of the state party, putting a noted election denier in charge in a pivotal swing state ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. Since Karamo’s election, the Michigan GOP has faced criticism for a tweet seeking to link gun control with the Holocaust.
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3. Jim Marchant
Midterm office sought: Nevada secretary of state
Marchant, an outspoken Trump ally who campaigned unsuccessfully on election denialism in a bid to become Nevada secretary of state, announced Wednesday he will campaign for the state’s GOP Senate nomination. Should he prevail, Marchant would challenge Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) in the 2024 election.
Marchant ran a failed campaign for the House in 2020 and unsuccessfully tried to overturn the results in a lawsuit. He was endorsed by Trump in the 2022 midterms and led a coalition of “America First” secretary of state candidates in 2022 who largely failed in their bids for competitive seats.
Rosen immediately responded to the news by calling Marchant a “far-right politician” who spreads “baseless conspiracy theories.”
4. Mayra Flores
Midterm office sought: U.S. representative for Texas’ 34th Congressional District
© Amber Garrett for The Washington Post
Flores, center, speaks with people before the Americano Media town hall.
Flores won an upset victory in a June 2022 special election for a House district in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. Her win in the heavily Hispanic area prompted excitement from Republicans and shock among Democrats at the shifting voting patterns of Hispanic voters in the area. In November, Flores lost a race for a newly drawn congressional district.
Flores, who denied the results of the 2020 election and shared conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, says she is focused on bringing more Hispanic voters into the conservative political sphere.
Flores is a senior political contributor for Americano Media, an upstart news outlet that seeks to produce right-wing Spanish-language content in a model similar to Fox News. The group has garnered backing from GOP political operatives, including many alumni of both of Trump’s presidential campaigns.
5. Karoline Leavitt
Midterm office sought: U.S. representative for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District
© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Karoline Leavitt lost a race for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District last year. At 25, she would have been the youngest woman to win a House seat.
A former assistant press secretary in the Trump White House and communications director to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Leavitt ran an unsuccessful bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas (D) in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. Leavitt, 25, would have been the youngest woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.
In April, Leavitt joined MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, as its press secretary. The organization is staffed with several alumni of the Trump administration and seeks to “ensure a second Trump administration and to promote America First candidates,” according to its website.
The group was founded just weeks before the November midterms and focused its first efforts on buoying Trump-backed candidates against Democrats in competitive statewide races. It has launched multiple ads attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is widely seen as Trump’s biggest potential rival in the 2024 GOP nomination.
6. Sarah Palin
Midterm office sought: U.S. representative for Alaska’s At-Large Congressional District
© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin lost her bid for Alaska’s At-Large U.S. House seat and blamed the state’s ranked-choice voting system.
The former Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee lost her race for Alaska’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Palin, who ran as a Trump-aligned conservative in a crowded field, blamed her loss to Rep. Mary Peltola (D) on the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.
Palin has since campaigned against ranked-choice voting across the country, claiming without evidence that the system may lead to fraud and casting other doubts on its usefulness.
7. Lee Zeldin
Midterm office sought: New York governor
© Julia Nikhinson/AP
Lee Zeldin ran a competitive race for New York governor against Kathy Hochul.
A former Republican congressman, Zeldin has been vaunted by GOP political operatives and grass-roots activists for running an aggressive statewide campaign that came within 6 points of defeating New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the traditionally liberal state.
Zeldin, who voted against the certification of the 2020 election, closely allied with Trump and right-wing politics while centering his campaign on issues such as crime and taxes. Although he lost, his campaign is credited with buoying down-ballot Republicans to victory in races that many credit for clinching Republicans’ House majority.
In April, he endorsed Trump ahead of the 2024 GOP presidential primary. He has not ruled out another bid for office himself.
Zeldin recently launched a political action committee that has endorsed Republican congressional candidates in New York. At CPAC, he slammed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), leading to some speculation that he might challenge her in 2024. Last Tuesday, he said he’d “keep an eye on the race” when asked if he’d challenge her.
8. Doug Mastriano
Midterm office sought: Pennsylvania governor
© Shuran Huang/For The Washington Post
Doug Mastriano, who lost the Pennsylvania governor’s race, had rejected the results of the 2020 election.
Mastriano, who made election denialism and a promise to overturn future elections he disagreed with core tenets of his campaign, lost his bid for Pennsylvania governor to Democrat Josh Shapiro by almost 15 points.
Mastriano is now considering another run for U.S. Senate. While he hasn’t formally announced, Mastriano has published dubious polls showing him in a competitive race against Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.).
The retired military officer and state senator is devoutly religious and made his conservative interpretation of Christianity central to his governor bid. He has said he is praying about whether to run again.
9. Tudor Dixon
Midterm office sought: Michigan governor
© Nick Hagen for The Washington Post
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon (R) speaks at a rally in a Sterling Heights, Mich., strip mall parking lot on Nov. 6.
Dixon ran an unsuccessful bid to unseat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) last fall and hinted early this year she was considering a run for Senate. A spokesperson for Dixon told The Washington Post she is no longer considering a bid for Senate.
Though Dixon lost by double digits, in recent media appearances she has not backed away from her embrace of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
10. Joe Kent
Midterm office sought: U.S. representative for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District
Kent campaigned in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District on a hard-right platform that made election conspiracy theories a core tenet of the race. Kent conceded the race to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after a close recount.
Kent, who has ties to white nationalist groups, has launched another run for the seat. He has voiced concerns about Republican turnout and the need for the GOP to mobilize its conservative base.
11. Mark Finchem
Midterm office sought: Arizona secretary of state
© Matt York/AP
Mark Finchem lost his run for Arizona secretary of state to Adrian Fontes and was later sanctioned for making false claims about the election.
Finchem unsuccessfully ran for Arizona secretary of state in 2022 against Democrat Adrian Fontes. He has not accepted the election results, baselessly arguing that the election was stolen. In March, an Arizona judge sanctioned Finchem for false claims he made about the 2022 election. Finchem is required to cover legal fees for Fontes’s defense of his election victory as part of the censure.
