Trump’s allies keep saying the 2020 election was stolen, and voters are tired of hearing it. That is the message from a new NPR report that finds ordinary Republican voters want the president to drop the subject, even as candidates tied to him keep raising it.
The story centers on two people who spoke at a farmers market in the Atlanta suburbs. Lynn, a lifelong Republican voter, told NPR she is thinking of voting for Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff partly because of how Mike Collins, who won a U.S. House race while insisting Trump had won Georgia in 2020, keeps talking about it. Austin Sapp, another Republican voter finishing a plate of grits, said he believes election fraud happens but wants the president to stop relitigating 2020.
“There was some ballots that showed up at 5:30—I wish I weren’t kidding—in a van. And that swung the election on us. And it happened to be here in Detroit.”
The Poll Says It Too
The numbers back up what those voters said. Only 1% of voters in a New York Times/Siena College poll said election integrity is the top issue deciding their vote this November.
Who Still Pushes It
Not everyone agrees with voters like Lynn and Sapp. Gabe Sterling, who served as a Georgia secretary of state official and pushed back against Trump’s false claims, says regular voters have “given this up a long time ago.” He argues the 2020 obsession is mostly alive among die-hard activists, some of whom hold key positions on state and local election boards and vote in Republican primaries.
Sterling lost his GOP primary run for secretary of state.
In Michigan, GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers once called Trump’s Georgia pressure campaign “more gangster than presidential.” Later he refused to answer who won in 2020 and claimed the Senate seat was stolen from him after losing a 2024 bid.
Rogers made the van claim at a local Republican meeting, describing ballots arriving late in a van in Detroit that he said swung the election.
Why Candidates Keep Talking About It
Michigan Republican strategist Jason Roe says candidates echoing Trump’s claims often do so for his support rather than sincere belief.
“I can’t imagine any Republican in a general election spending one penny in paid advertising talking about what happened in 2020,” Roe predicted.
Sterling says Trump’s focus on election fraud distracts from issues such as the Iran war and the Epstein files, and that Trump appears to be laying groundwork to shift blame if Republicans lose.
What Voters Actually Want
The contrast between candidates and voters is stark. Rogers and Collins are both running on messages tied to Trump’s version of 2020. Lynn and Sapp are both fed up with it.
The polling data supports what voters say: 1% of voters rank election integrity as their top issue this November.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs ordinary Republican voters like Lynn and Austin Sapp who want Trump and his allies to stop repeating claims about the 2020 election being stolen, and is against candidates like Mike Collins who keep raising the subject despite those voters’ clear desire for them to move on. The paper also notes that the 2020 election was certified by courts, state officials and Congress, and that no credible evidence has been found to support Trump’s claims of widespread fraud. The paper’s north star is individual freedom, support for small business, and avoiding concentrations of power, which is why it backs voters over candidates who ignore their wishes.
Austin Sapp’s own words show the tension directly: he believes election fraud happens but wants the president to stop relitigating 2020. Lynn’s decision to consider voting for Ossoff partly because of Collins’ insistence on the subject shows the practical effect of candidates refusing to let it go. The New York Times/Siena College poll finding that only 1% of voters rank election integrity as their top issue this November reinforces that ordinary voters have moved on while some candidates have not.
Readers should watch for candidates who continue to raise the 2020 election stolen narrative despite clear signals from voters that they want the subject dropped. The paper will continue to judge candidates issue by issue against its north star of individual freedom, small business and no concentrations of power, and will say where a candidate is right and where wrong.
Source material: “Some GOP candidates are still making election fraud claims. Voters want to move on,” NPR.
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