WASHINGTON – Rep. Andy Harris, the newly elected chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, suggested that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled state Legislature should consider awarding the state’s electors to Donald Trump before all the votes are counted. Comments circulated on social media on Friday.
Referring to the North Carolina counties hit by Hurricane Helene residents may find it difficult to voteHarris said during a question-and-answer session at the Maryland County Republican Party dinner Thursday night that it “makes a lot of sense” for the state Legislature to convene on Election Day, Nov. 5, to split the state’s electors.
The Maryland GOP congressman responded to comments made by Trump supporter Ivan Ryklin at the Lincoln-Reagan dinner in Talbot County, who suggested to the audience that Trump and others should appeal to GOP-led state legislatures in several states, including upstate. Swing states like the Carolinas and Arizona and Georgia will gather on Election Day and cast their electoral votes for Trump.
Raiklin wrote video Exchanges with Harris as well full video of the event Contains words from Harris on X Friday.
“It makes a lot of sense in North Carolina,” Harris told Raiklin during a Q&A in front of dozens of GOP attendees. “I mean, statistically, you can go and say: ‘Look, you’ve been disenfranchised in 25 counties. You know, probably what this vote would have been, which would have been enough if I were in the Legislature to go, ‘Yes, we should call the Legislature. We cannot deprive voters of their right to vote.”
“But how do you make the argument in other states? I mean, otherwise it just seems like a power play,” Harris continued. “In North Carolina, I mean, it’s legal. “I mean, there’s a lot of people who won’t be able to vote, and that could make a difference in the state.”
Harris said in a statement Thursday that the “theoretical talk” of state legislatures casting early electoral votes was “taken out of context.”
“As I have mentioned many times, every legitimate vote must be counted. Voting is going well in western North Carolina right now,” Harris blames MD US Rep. Jamie Raskin. expresses his doubts on whether he will vote to confirm Trump’s election victory if there are anomalies.
Harris, who entered Congress on the 2010 Tea Party wave, was elected chairman of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, succeeding Rep. Bob Goode, R-Va., who lost his primary race last month after opposing Trump.
Harris played a role in the GOP’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He attended a meeting between Trump and House Republicans at the White House on December 21, 2020, where they discussed a strategy on how to change the outcome of the election, the January 6 committee said.
Speaking at Thursday’s Lincoln-Reagan dinner, Raiklin said popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who is set to interview Trump on Friday, should ask the former president to “urge state legislatures across the country to just go ahead and convene on November 5th. separate the voters of their state”.
“At least in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin, it guarantees that there are no illegals on the ballot, no illegal ballot boxes, no illegal signature checks, and it’s completely free, fair. , transparent,” Raiklin added. “And it can be broadcast live on X, Rumble and C-SPAN for the whole world to see.”
Ryklin explained that Republicans have an advantage over Democrats in state legislatures: “Right now, 276 electoral votes are controlled by Republican legislatures that control the House and Senate. And in Nebraska, it’s a Republican-controlled chamber. What happens when Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson all talk about it? Are the chances increasing?”
Democrats immediately blasted Harris for endorsing a proposal to split North Carolina’s electoral votes before voters go to the polls.
“It’s really important to understand the ultimate goal of the Republicans – to be president whether or not Donald Trump wins the election.” he tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.