Luntz Raises Alarm About Election Losers Not Accepting Results

Mark Niquette
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Pollster Frank Luntz predicted that Democrats would maintain control of the US Senate in the November midterm elections and that Republicans would win the House, but said he’s really worried about candidates losing close races and not accepting their defeats.

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Luntz said he’s seeing in polling and focus groups “an unprecedented level” of distrust and loss of credibility in the election system that undergirds US democracy, and he fears there could be a dozen statewide races across the country decided by less than 1% of the vote, in which the losers deny the results.

“I don’t think this country can live through that,” Luntz said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power with David Westin” on Friday. “To go through another two years of election denial is so dangerous for the democracy.”

Polls show voters regard threats to democracy as a top issue, alongside inflation, abortion rights and immigration. Democrats, who are concerned about the potential for state officials to disrupt future elections, have dramatically ramped up spending in races for secretary of state and attorney general.

Luntz said he saw the same phenomenon leading up to the 2020 presidential election but raised the alarm too late. Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen from him, precipitating the violent attack on the US Capitol last year by Trump supporters to stop President Joe Biden from taking office.

The pollster blamed both Republican election deniers and Democrats complaining about voter suppression, when there are weeks of early voting available in many states for distrust in the election system.

“Both sides are playing into this undermining of the faith and trust in the system, and both sides need to cut it out right now or we’re not gonna like the consequences of it,” Luntz said. “We have to do something now to to ensure accountability, personal responsibility and most importantly, transparency of the electoral process.”

Luntz predicted that Democrats, who now control the 50-50 Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties, would win a majority by one or two seats. Republicans need to flip only five seats to win control of the the House, and Luntz expects them to pick up 15 or 20 seats to get a “small but clear majority.”

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