GOP candidates nationwide are still refusing to acknowledge Biden's presidential win: report

Republican candidates across the United States are still refusing to acknowledge that President Joe Biden legitimately won the presidential election, according to a new report published by CNN.

An analysis written by CNN's Daniel Dale highlights Republicans' stance on the 2020 presidential election has become a key platform highlight for candidates hoping to gain the support of former President Donald Trump's base.

"A refusal to endorse the legitimacy of Biden's victory has become a key requirement in Republican primaries across the country," Dale wrote. "From conservative Alabama to the swing states of the Midwest, numerous Republicans trying to win party nominations in 2022 have joined former President Donald Trump in refusing to publicly admit that Trump just plain lost."

Dale also explained the different ways in which candidates have addressed the situation. While some have been subtle in their refusal to acknowledge Biden's victory, others have been a bit more blatant and "aggressive. However, he also highlighted the problem with both approaches.

"Both approaches are dishonest," Dale wrote, adding, "And both are evidence of a disturbing fact about the state of the Republican Party: you'll find it very hard to win a 2022 primary if you decide to openly acknowledge the truth about Biden's fair-and-square victory."

To make matters worse, the same sentiment has been echoed by Republican voters. Dale's latest analysis comes after a Monmouth University poll conducted back in November. According to the poll results, a staggering 73% of participants still believe Biden only won the election as a result of fraud.

During an interview, Steve Mitchell, the CEO of Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc., and a Republican pollster in Michigan, weighed in on the dishonest approach Republican candidates have taken.

"You can do that, but understand the consequences. The consequences are probably that you're going to lose," Steve Mitchell, a Republican pollster in Michigan, said in an interview. "So if you're willing to lose based on doing that, go ahead."

He also shared his perspective on the results of the poll and how Republican voters have adamantly refused to accept the truth about the election.

"This is a deeply held value by Republicans. And if you're a candidate, you're almost forced to have to say you don't believe he was legally elected," Mitchell said. He said "logic just doesn't work" with Republican voters on this subject: "They continue to be so angry that reason does not prevail. You can't persuade them."

Everett Stern, a Pennsylvania businessman and Senate candidate, also weighed in on the impact of claims spread by Trump and his allies like Sydney Powell, Mike Lindell, and Rudy Giuliani.

"These people are master spinners, and they duped the American Republican Party," Stern said, "and they sunk it and they killed it."