Kansas Republicans use their new titles while avoiding President-elect for Biden
Kansas Republicans refuse to call Joe Biden President-elect, but that hasn’t kept them from adding “elect” to their own new job titles.
The reason is that their Democratic opponents have conceded and President Donald Trump, upending long-standing norms, has refused to acknowledge that his race is over.
Kara Zeyer, spokeswoman for Congressman-elect Jake LaTurner, justified the Pittsburg Republican’s reluctance to call Biden president-elect—a title widely used by world leaders— because the presidential race remains close in a handful of states compared to LaTurner’s victory over Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla in the Kansas 2nd Congressional District.
“The election process is playing out exactly how it was designed. Not all of the votes have been counted and President Trump has the right to use all legal channels to ensure the integrity of the election. As Joe Biden would say, ‘Democracy takes a little patience sometimes,’’” Zeyer said.
“Mayor De La Isla conceded, so it’s clear that both campaigns are confident in the Kansas results. Congressman-elect LaTurner won by over 15% of the vote.”
But De La Isla’s concession was triggered by the Associated Press, which called the House race for LaTurner—just as it did for Biden. Kansas counties are still in the process of finalizing their totals ahead of the state’s December 1 certification deadline.
Senator-elect Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, referred to himself by that title in a Wednesday announcement that his chief of staff in the U.S. House, Brent Robertson, would hold the same job in his U.S. Senate office.
Marshall appeared with other Republican senators-elect at a photo opportunity on Capitol Hill Tuesday. His campaign declined to comment on Biden’s victory in the presidential race earlier this week.
A representative for Congressman-elect Tracey Mann, who will replace Marshall in the House, did not respond a question about whether the former lieutenant governor recognized Biden’s status as president-elect.
Kansas Democrats criticized the state’s Republican officeholders for breaking norms in not acknowledging Biden’s victory.
“The American people have spoken and resoundingly elected Joseph R. Biden as President of the United States,” said Kansas Democratic chair Vicki Hiatt.
“Make no mistake, the dangerous hyperpartisanship on display from our chief diplomat and Republican leaders is undermining the public’s faith in our elections and our democracy. Their rhetoric will pose calamitous repercussions for our nation’s future. Hardworking Kansans deserve better from their representatives.”
Biden is one pace to win nearly 51% of the popular vote, the biggest share for a presidential challenger since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1932 victory over incumbent Herbert Hoover.
His lead in Michigan is roughly 14 times Trump’s 2016 margin over Hillary Clinton. Biden’s edge in Pennsylvania has surpassed Trump’s in 2016 and in Wisconsin he is just under Trump’s total of four years ago. Biden also narrowly flipped Arizona and likely Georgia, which will hold a recount.
Biden would still win the Electoral College regardless of the final outcome in Georgia. His current vote total would put his margin significantly higher than George W. Bush’s famously tight 2000 victory in Florida, which triggered a recount and a case that went to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s court challenges in these states aren’t likely to succeed. His legal team even affirmed in federal court this week that it was not alleging fraud in Pennsylvania despite the president’s repeated claims on Twitter.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, roiled Democrats Tuesday when he suggested that a second Trump administration would begin in January. The State Department and other federal agencies have not yet begun cooperating with Biden’s transition team.
When Pompeo was announced as Trump’s CIA director 10 days after the 2016 election, President Barack Obama’s administration did not put up the same transition hurdles. The announcement was two weeks before Kansas certified its election results that year.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
