Pollster Frank Luntz said he is worried about an increasing number of candidates not accepting the results of elections in close races.
Luntz said in an interview on Friday on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power with David Westin” that he is seeing in polling and focus groups that there is an “unprecedented level” of distrust in the election system that serves as the basis of American democracy.
He said he is concerned that losers may deny the results in up to a dozen statewide races across the country decided by less than 1 percentage point.
“I don’t think this country can live through that,” Luntz said. “To go through another two years of election denial is so dangerous for the democracy.”
He said he saw this trend in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election but expressed his concerns too late.
Former President Trump has falsely maintained that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and many Trump-backed Republican candidates have refused to recognize that President Biden was legitimately elected to the presidency.
Luntz said both Republicans who deny the results of the 2020 election and Democrats who complain about voter fraud are to blame for the increased risk of more candidates not accepting the results.
“Both sides are playing into this undermining of the faith and trust in the system, and both sides need to cut it out right now or we’re not gonna like the consequences of it,” he said. “We have to do something now to ensure accountability, personal responsibility and most importantly, transparency of the electoral process.”
An analysis from The Washington Post published earlier this month found that a majority of Republican candidates for the House, Senate and key statewide offices deny or question the outcome of the 2020 race.
Democrats have criticized certain Republican-led states that have passed legislation reducing access to vote, saying in certain cases that the efforts are meant to target minority voters who tend to support Democratic candidates.
Luntz said he expects Democrats to retain control of the Senate in next month’s midterm elections, holding the majority by one or two seats.
He said he believes Republicans will pick up 15 to 20 seats in the House, giving them a “small but clear majority.” The GOP only needs to pick up a few seats to win the majority in the House.