Kris Warner ‘not in position’ to say if 2020 election was stolen in other states

Kris Warner, the executive director of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, won the Republican primary for Secretary of State on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Courtesy photo)

West Virginia’s outgoing Secretary of State Mac Warner has said that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. His brother, Kris Warner, who won the Republican nomination for the seat Tuesday night, says he’s not in a position to know.

Kris Warner said the race was not stolen in West Virginia, where Mac Warner was responsible for overseeing the election process.

“The one thing that we know and that is a given is that the election was not stolen in West Virginia,” Kris Warner said when asked about the 2020 election Tuesday night. “Mac has a unique set of experiences that he brings to the table that I wouldn’t ever step forward and say that I know more about what’s happened in other states.”

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not in a position to talk about what has happened in other states,” Kris Warner said. 

Kris Warner, the executive director of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, won the Republican primary, pulling in 46% of the votes over former Democrat Del. Doug Skaff’s 21%. 

“So the term ‘stolen,’ I guess that’s what’s being debated,” Kris Warner said. “But I don’t think that I’m qualified at this point to talk about what’s happened in other states and whether the election was stolen or not.”

Amid Trump’s repeated claims of election fraud, his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was meeting to certify the election results.  

An Associated Press review of the potential cases of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump in the 2020 election found fewer than 475, a number that would not have made a difference in the outcome. 

Mac Warner, who lost the Republican gubernatorial primary nomination to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday, said during a debate last year that the 2020 election “was stolen by the CIA.” Mac Warner also reportedly participated in a rally for Trump after the 2020 election, holding up a  “Stop the Steal” sign. 

Reached Thursday, South Charleston attorney Thornton Cooper, a Democrat who will be Warner’s opponent in the November general election, said President Joe Biden won the 2020 election “fair and square.” Cooper said Warner’s presence in the race was one of the reasons he decided to run.

“You had one Warner [who] was an election denier, and his brother was running to take his place,” Cooper said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Thornton Cooper.

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