“Despite our best efforts to have every vote counted, the reality is that the toxic campaign of political disinformation to attack this constitutional review of the closest congressional contest in 100 years has effectively silenced the voices of Iowans,” Hart said in a statement Wednesday. “It is a stain on our democracy that the truth has not prevailed and my hope for the future is a return to decency and civility.”
Hart is trying to make it seem like the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District was stolen from her, that state election officials failed to review the race adequately, and that Iowans were therefore disenfranchised. None of this is true. The contest between Hart and Miller-Meeks was extremely close — it came down to just six votes — but it was lawfully won. Iowa officials even held a recount to make sure of that, and when Miller-Meeks was still in the lead, the state’s bipartisan canvassing board voted unanimously to certify her victory.
The only person who acted without decency or civility throughout this entire process was Hart, who refused to take her challenge to state court, where such disputes belong, and instead tried to whip up congressional Democrats and convince them to help her steal Miller-Meeks’s seat. If Democrats had a larger majority in the House, they would have done it. But thanks to several swing-district members who were rightfully worried about the optics of overruling a state-certified election, Hart’s efforts failed.
And now, she’s trying to convince the country that it was she who had been wronged.
Unfortunately, this dishonest attempt at gaslighting is becoming a common election practice. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election, calling him an “illegitimate” president for years. Clinton’s accusations were contradicted by a thorough federal investigation, but she refuses to admit Trump won fairly.
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams refused to concede the 2018 election to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for weeks, insisting that Kemp had rigged the election against her despite having no evidence to back this allegation. She continues to make this claim to this day.
And just a few months ago, Trump tried to convince congressional Republicans not to certify the Electoral College’s votes for President Joe Biden, arguing the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him in several key swing states. Like Abrams and Clinton, Trump had no compelling evidence. But he continues to repeats his election conspiracy to anyone who will listen.
Now, Hart joins the ranks of bitter candidates who claim fraud to avoid reality. The fact that this group of people continues to grow is a serious problem. Their baseless claims damage our election integrity, and their refusal to concede and move on erodes public trust in the system. These candidates are both a symptom of our division and a contributor to it. Unless both political parties make a deliberate effort to discourage the sore loser mindset, it will become the norm.