Florida Republicans react to Trump’s election fraud claims

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4Jax has been asking Republicans in Florida to respond to the President’s accusations of voter fraud in his race against former Vice President Joe Biden.

News4Jax reached out to Gov. Ron DeSantis through his office Friday night. DeSantis, a Trump ally, frequently campaigned in Florida with the President.

News4Jax has not received his comments yet, but we did speak with one of President Trump’s big supporters in our area, State Representative Jason Fischer.

“There is a process. I do have faith in America to get our election system right,” Fischer said.

Fischer represents the Mandarin area of Jacksonville and he’s a big supporter for Trump often appearing at rallies.

Fischer on Friday addressed the claims from Trump, who says there is widespread election fraud, a claim the News4JAX Trust Index rates as “not true.”

Fischer says there’s cause for concern and called for patience.

“Count every legal vote, right, I don’t want a legal vote has been cast to not be counted, but I also don’t want any votes that may not be legal to be counted either,” Fischer said. “And so just going through the process, making sure that there is integrity and using words that don’t escalate things and make it worse.”

Republican Congressman Ted Yoho supports the president and he said over the phone Friday that reports of keeping Republicans from viewing ballots as they were processed in various states set up an argument there is fraud and that it looks one-sided.

"If the ballots were counted the way they were supposed to be we can accept the results,” Yoho said.

Republican John Rutherford wasn’t available, according to staff.

Republican Rep. Michael Waltz issued a statement.

“Every legal vote should be counted. That count should be transparent to ALL observers,” he said.

News4Jax reached out to both U.S. Senators from Florida, both Republicans.

“Faith in our election is as important as the outcome,” Rubio tweeted. “Preserving it requires not allowing the outcome to be decided by either the media or a candidate. Transparently count every legally cast vote & allow courts to decide claims of irregularities or fraud on the basis of evidence.”

Senator Rick Scott also defends the President’s right to dispute the election if he has evidence.

“President @realDonaldTrump is absolutely right to demand transparency and to demand that all irregularities be investigated completely,” Scott said.


About the Author

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports on government and politics. He also hosts "This Week in Jacksonville," Channel 4's hot topics and politics public affairs show each Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

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