Analysis: This former Republican senator has a ridiculous reason for believing the Big Lie
Now, however, Heller is running for governor — and he has decided to bow at the altar of Donald Trump.
So, Heller, who wants to be the chief executive of one of our 50 states, believes that Joe Biden didn’t win because, um, a lot of other Republicans in the state think that? (A spokesman later told the Review Journal that “he meant to say most Republicans in the state think Biden is an illegitimate president.”)
I did some digging on the Interwebs and — surprise surprise! — couldn’t find the poll that Heller’s campaign referenced in which 7 in 10 Republicans say Biden didn’t beat Donald Trump fair and square in 2020.
Regardless of whether the poll actually exists, we know for certain that there was not, in fact, widespread vote fraud in the 2020 election in Nevada — a state that Biden won 50% to 48%.
Why, then, is Heller repeating the Big Lie? Simple — he is hoping for a Trump endorsement and knows that the only way that will happen is to parrot the former president’s false claim that the 2020 election was plagued by fraud.
Heller, then, knows he starts in a not-great place with Trump (and the party base). And that the only way to give himself a chance at a Trump endorsements is to insist — contra facts — that the election was somehow stolen from Trump. His campaign, however, should probably find a better explanation for Heller’s position than citing polls.
It’s not at all clear whether Heller can convince Trump that he has been transformed from a doubter to a true believer. What is clear is that Heller has flip-flopped mightily on Trump — and done so for utterly transparent political reasons.
