Democracy Dies in Darkness

Top Republicans, led by Trump, refuse to commit to accept 2024 election results

One possible vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), repeatedly declined to say whether he will accept the outcome.

Updated May 9, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. EDT|Published May 8, 2024 at 2:18 p.m. EDT
Former president Donald Trump speaks with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and moderator Laura Ingraham during a Fox News town hall in Greenville, S.C., on Feb. 20. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
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Top Republicans, led by former president Donald Trump, are refusing to commit to accept November’s election results with six months until voters head to the polls, raising concerns that the country could see a repeat of the violent aftermath of Trump’s loss four years ago.

The question has become something of a litmus test, particularly among the long list of possible running mates for Trump, whose relationship with his first vice president, Mike Pence, ruptured because Pence resisted Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election.