OPINION: Grappling with election deniers is full-time duty

Dec. 2—My all-time favorite loser was an unimposing fellow called "Sodbuster" Kenny Jay. He ran a landscaping business, which inspired his nickname. Kenny moonlighted as a professional wrestler, doing battle in a studio where televised matches were staged each week.

Kenny's events were known inside the wrestling business as "squash matches." There was good reason for the lexicon. Villainous cowboys, blond bodybuilders, "Algerians" and "Russians" either pinned poor Kenny or trapped him in some agonizing hold until he submitted.

Loss after loss, the sodbuster kept wrestling. And the dullard of a ring announcer kept describing him as "the very capable Kenny Jay."

Not once did Kenny dispute any of his many defeats. All his matches had a predetermined winner — the other guy. Kenny's job was to lose while making his opponents seem invincible.

Elections for public office have certain similarities to professional wrestling. Both are dirty businesses filled with grunting, groaning and sucker punches. The obvious difference to everyone but delusional Republicans is U.S. elections aren't fixed.

Heavily favored Hillary Clinton lost a presidential election. So did conniving incumbent Donald Trump, though he claims otherwise. Trump continues to try to weaken confidence in elections by falsely saying he was a victim of voter fraud so extensive it hopscotched across five swing states.

Georgia was one of the closely contested states where Democrat Joe Biden bested Trump in the 2020 election. In a recorded telephone call, Trump tried to intimidate Georgia's top election official, a fellow Republican, into changing the result. All the Georgian had to do, Trump said, was switch 12,000 votes to Trump's column, enough to hand him an undeserved victory.

Averse to life in a cell, the Georgian refused to cheat. Still, Trump's ouster by voters didn't dilute his influence in pockets of America.

Kari Lake, Trump's endorsed candidate for governor of Arizona, lost to a Democrat in last month's election. Lake is imitating her mentor on how to be classless in defeat.

"Maricopa County, where it took two weeks to count, is the poster child for broken, botched elections," Lake said. "But if you bring up any of these issues, you are labeled an election denier or a conspiracy theorist."

The only labeling is by Lake. if a candidate claims fraud or incompetence tainted an election, she needs more than a speech. Honest residents want hard evidence.

Arizona's outgoing governor, Republican Doug Ducey, walked tall while Lake spat venom and nonsense. Ducey met with and congratulated Democrat Katie Hobbs on her victory over Lake.

Ducey has no motive to consort with the rival party. He wanted a Republican — even a Republican as shallow as Lake — to continue occupying the governor's office. Ducey publicly acknowledged Hobbs' victory because the evidence showed she won a fair contest.

Most of last month's elections in New Mexico have been certified without controversy or complaint. Two races for seats in the state House of Representatives are close enough to require recounts.

Rep. Candie Sweetser, D-Deming, is getting a recount she doesn't especially want.

Sweetser trails Republican Jenifer Jones by 46 votes. A total of 7,532 people cast ballots in their race, according to the secretary of state's tabulation.

"I conceded to my opponent two days after the election," Sweetser told me. "I have enormous confidence in the three county clerks in my district."

The other recount is for an open House seat in Albuquerque. Democrat Charlotte Little leads Republican Robert Moss by 36 votes. Their race drew 11,264 voters.

The margin might look small on paper, but history says it's mountainous. A few legislative recounts occur in New Mexico every two years. Rarely do more than a few votes change.

As Lake tries to build an audience for her specious claims of a stolen election in Arizona, New Mexico is quieter. It was different in springtime. A handful of Republican county commissioners in rural New Mexico maneuvered to block certification of the primary election results.

Several of the dissidents were predisposed to Trump's brand of Kool-Aid laced with whine. They lacked any evidence but carped about fraud or faulty voting machines. Sweetser said the two recounts in New Mexico will cost about $15,000. The money could be better spent, she said, but maybe recounts are valuable in instilling confidence in elections.

Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, will miss Sweetser in the statehouse. Harper told me he couldn't have had a better colleague, though they sat on different sides of the political aisle.

That's one anecdote of hope in a country forced to grapple with sore losers in clean elections.

Contact Milan Simonich at

msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.