Rep. Andy Harris (R-NC) argued that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature should declare Donald Trump the state’s winner now because Hurricane Helene has made voting too difficult. It “makes a lot of sense,” Harris reportedly said. Did I mention that Harris is chair of the House Freedom Caucus?
“You statistically can go and say, ‘Look, you got disenfranchised in 25 counties. You know what that vote probably would have been,’” Harris said during an exchange with a speaker at the dinner. “Which would be — if I were in the Legislature — enough to go, ‘Yeah we have to convene the legislature. We can’t disenfranchise the voters.’”
Harris’ comments were in response to a keynote speech by Ivan Raiklin, a pro-Trump activist who has long embraced a radical strategy of state legislatures guaranteeing Trump’s reelection if they deem the 2024 election tainted by fraud and corruption. Raiklin posted a video of his full speech on X as well as a separate clip of his exchange with Harris.