US election: People voted Republican — just not for Trump, GOP official says

Arizona’s attorney general dismisses claims of voter fraud and says Trump is ‘very, highly unlikely’ to overturn Biden’s lead in the state

The Republican attorney general for Arizona has defended the election process in the state against criticism from the president, saying that people voted for “Republicans down-ballot, but they didn’t vote for President Trump”.  

Mark Brnovich dismissed claims of voter fraud from Donald Trump and his campaign team, adding that there was “no evidence” to back such an assertion in Arizona.  

Appearing on Fox News, Mr Brnovich also said it was time to accept that president-elect Joe Biden has won the election, saying “there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results would change”.

In Arizona, Trump campaign attorneys have alleged that Maricopa County incorrectly rejected votes cast by in-person voters on election day, and they have called for the sealing of evidence which, they say, supports this claim. 

But a judge in the state on Tuesday agreed with elections officials who urged the court not to do so because the public "has a right to know how flimsy the plaintiffs' evidence actually is," the Arizona Republic had reported.

When Fox host Neil Cavuto sought a response from Mr Brnovich over the recent dispute, the attorney general said that the number of ballots which are being contested is less than 200, so even if these votes are flipped, the chances of Mr Trump making a comeback were “highly unlikely.”

He noted that "right now, there are less than 50,000 votes to count, and the president would have to get about 65 per cent of them to win Arizona, so it does appear that Joe Biden will win Arizona.”

"My point is this, Neil, is that we need to deal in facts and evidence," said Mr Brnovich. "If there is a problem or you think there is a potential problem, the answer is, you don't wait until it's done to file a lawsuit. If you have problems with people on the voter rolls, you know, other issues, you need to address those problems prospectively instead of reactively."

He ended his interview by making the observation that if there was indeed a conspiracy, it failed “since the county election official who was Democrat lost and other Republicans won.”

"What really happened, it came down to people split their ticket. People voted for Republicans down-ballot, but they didn't vote for President Trump."