Close Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) said on Monday that he accepts the results of the 2020 presidential election even as Donald Trump continues to claim that the election was stolen from him.
Graham urge Republicans to focus on next year’s midterm election where they hope to regain control of the House and Senate.
“I accept the results of the election. … 2020 is over to me, I’m ready to march on and hopefully take back the House and the Senate in 2022,” Graham told reporters in South Carolina, according to the Hill.
Graham’s comments come days after Trump called the 2020 presidential election the “crime of the century” and blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as “weak and pathetic.” He also said former Vice President Mike Pence lacked the “courage” to reverse the results of the election, which Joe Biden won.
While Graham said he accepted the results of the election, he added that he would endorse making changes to election laws heading into 2022, including stricter ID requirements.
“I think what we need to do is reform election systems. … So I think it’s smart to reform our laws to make sure you are who you are,” he said.
“I think there are a lot of people that feel like bad things happened in the election. … But I think President Trump and the Republican Party needs to focus on election reform and the upcoming election,” he added.
Republican-controlled state legislatures have introduced and passed laws in the wake of Biden’s victory to limit access to the ballot especially for people of color. State legislators this year have introduced 361 bills across 47 states that would restrict access to voting, according to a Brennan Center analysis, the Hill noted.
