“Many of the crucial decisions that prevented the Trump strategy from working were made by local officials who are Republicans, but who refused to sacrifice the integrity of the system for temporary partisan advantage. Many of the rulings that tossed Trump’s spurious claims out of the courts were made by judges appointed by Republican presidents. These people are Republicans – or were Republicans. Will they remain so? Will they still even be welcome in the party?”
“I ask because these officials represent the pre-Trump Republican party. The judges were appointed in the two Bush presidencies, and the local election officials rose to their positions within the party either before Trump was in office, or before his influence had extended down to the details of local politics. They did not act like Trump loyalists, because they were selected before loyalty to Trump became the party’s central, defining issue. That increasingly looks like the party’s past, not its future. And that’s what the current tussling over the election is really about. It’s not about overturning this election. It’s about preparing the ground for the next one” – The Bulwark.