Election skeptics roil GOP contests for secretary of state

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY and JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican state election officials in several states are having to defend their records as they face challengers from within their own party who either outright deny that Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency or raise unsubstantiated claims that elections are not secure. Those claims have wide appeal with the Republican base. If those challengers go on to win, it raises the prospect that the nation’s voting process will become further politicized. Some incumbent secretaries of state who previously denounced attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential results are now agreeing fraud is a problem, as a way to help them steer though the GOP nominating contests.