Talking Points Memo: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) heatedly insisted Thursday that he did not try to overturn the 2020 election because he only voted against validating the results from two states – which wouldn’t have been enough, he reasoned, to overturn President Joe Biden’s win. CNN’s Manu Raju asked McCarthy about a contested election in Iowa that both parties are watching closely. Republicans have sought to cast the dispute as a nefarious bid by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to overturn an election. Raju asked McCarthy what the difference would be between such a scenario and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election – which McCarthy himself played a role in.”

“‘I disagree with the premise of the question,’ he said before asking Raju if he knows how many electoral votes it takes to win the presidency. ‘If you challenge Arizona and Pennsylvania, would that have changed and lowered President Biden’s numbers below 270?’ he continued, referring to the Electoral College certifications from the two states he challenged on January 6. Currently, the House Administration Committee is considering the election results from Iowa’s second district. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks won the election by just six votes, and a recount was conducted and the race certified by state officials. The Democrat, Rita Hart, pointed to issues in the recount process – she said that state law limited the recount to ballots initially counted after Election Day – and says she has identified 22 ballots that were improperly rejected due to election worker error. Hart filed a claim under the Federal Contested Elections Act which brought the case to the committee. The committee chair, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), last week instructed both sides to file an initial brief by March 22 and a reply to the other side by March 29.”