GOP contender for Missouri’s secretary of state continues to promote 2020 election conspiracies
Plus, a white Michigan lawmaker claims that Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t “authentically Black.”
The Republican candidate for Missouri’s secretary of state, state Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Liberty), has been promoting town halls conducted by the touring 2020 election denier Dr. Douglas G. Frank.
Frank, who came to prominence after former President Donald Trump urged him to speak at his first rally upon leaving office, claims to have uncovered clandestine algorithms used to anoint President Joe Biden. According to Frank, Trump said that he wanted the former high school teacher to “explain to the world how our elections are being stolen.” He then crisscrossed the nation asserting that the presidency was stolen from Trump.
In late August, Hoskins posted details on Facebook about an event organized by Frank titled “Elections: Are They Secure?”
At his seminars, Frank — who has worked for fellow election denier and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell — says that every county in the country had its voting machines hacked during the last election. “I know the elections are not real. I know the elections are being manipulated,” he told CNN in 2022. “Regardless of who wins. I just want ‘em to be fair.”
Frank has recently been operating in Missouri, where he’s held events in Camden, Cape, Cass, Greene, Girardeau, Jackson, Johnson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties.
According to Yvonne Reeves Chone, the vice chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, recent speeches by Frank in the state have been about “stoking militia groups to take matters into their own hands, encouraging them to police polling places, canvass voters at home to uncover fraudulent ballots, and disregard election law.”
Frank has also advocated the far-right legal theory of “constitutional sheriffs,” which insists that sheriffs are the ultimate arbiters of the Constitution. The philosophy has evolved into a movement that about 10% of sheriffs are affiliated with and has been used to encourage everything from anti-mask laws to mass deportation.
The affiliation with Hoskins is troubling given the nature of the office he’s seeking: The secretary of state for Missouri is the “chief elections official” for the state. Hoskins has said if he were elected, he’d mandate that votes be counted by hand as a way to prevent the supposed hacking of electronic ballots, despite the anticipated chaos it could bring. The biggest proponent of this strategy? None other than Mike Lindell.
“Hand-counting ballots is the very simplest, safest way to go,” Hoskins said. “Would it require some more manpower in order for us to do that? Most certainly. But I think overall, it would be safer than our election machines.”
By Richard Eberwein
An article published by Detroit News last Wednesday shed light on offensive racial comments made by Michigan state Rep. Jim DeSana (R-Carleton), risking his chances in keeping his vulnerable seat.
DeSana drew headlines this week after Detroit News published audio of the representative at a rally on July 24. At the rally, DeSana said that some people don’t see Vice President Kamala Harris as “authentically Black.”
“Well and I’m not sure that everybody perceives Kamala [Harris] as authentically Black, because doesn’t she have a Jamaican father?” DeSana asked. “There’s some Jamaican and Indian in there. Some Asian blood, too. Like Samoan? I don’t know.”
When pressed by Detroit News’ Craig Mauger, DeSana refused to back down from his remarks, saying that he accepts Harris’ “desire to identify as Black” but that “people understand that she is multi-racial.”
The comment is the latest in a series of extreme stances the freshman lawmaker has taken as he seeks reelection in a tossup district. DeSana was sworn into the Michigan House of Representatives in January 2023, where he has made a habit of perpetuating former President Donald Trump’s false election claims, espousing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and opposing reproductive rights.
In August 2023, DeSana made a Facebook post defending the alternate slate of electors in Michigan, claiming that the media referring to them as “fake electors” is “harmful to our Republic.”
These fake electors attempted to overturn the legitimate election results in Michigan, Wisconsin and several other swing states to prevent Joe Biden from taking office in January 2021. Sixteen of these fake electors were criminally charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in May.
In April, Nessel declined a request from DeSana and fellow GOP Reps. Neil Friske and Steve Carra to criminally investigate Dominion Voting System’s CEO John Poulos. The representatives claimed that Poulos may have lied under oath before the state Senate Oversight Committee. In June 2021, Michigan Republicans concluded an extensive investigation into voter fraud, in which they found no substantial evidence.
Despite his concerns, DeSana has voted against bills to stop poll worker intimidation, early voting and the creation of a ballot tracking system.
In 2022, DeSana reposted a claim on Twitter that “sexual identity is straight out of the Communist Manifesto.”
In 2023, DeSana also voted against a bill to ban youth conversion therapy.
And in August, DeSana and Friske introduced a resolution to repeal the right to reproductive freedom in Michigan.
DeSana was narrowly elected to Michigan’s lower chamber in 2022, when he narrowly defeated his opponent Alex Garza by just 1,040 votes. Next month, he will face 25-year-old Democratic challenger Kyle Wright. During their respective primary elections, Wright collected 5,327 votes, while DeSana garnered 5,296.