Raskin and Biggs spar over Arizona audit results, with Biggs refusing to say who won the state

Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) clashed Thursday over the results of Arizona’s 2020 election audit, with Biggs, a staunch Trump supporter, refusing to acknowledge that President Biden had won the state.

Raskin, who appeared at the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing virtually, said he never understood why Arizona representatives challenged “the result by which they themselves were elected.” The Maryland congressman then referenced Biggs, who is also the House Freedom Caucus chairman, and asked him if he would accept the results of the recent GOP-requested audit, which showed that Biden got even more votes than were reported by the state last year. 

“That is not what the audit concluded, Mr. Raskin. You know better than that,” Biggs responded. “Have you read the whole audit or are you cherry-picking the line which talks about the recount versus the tabulation machines?” 

“Well, who won the election is my question, Mr. Biggs? I’m happy to yield to you for that. Who won the election in Arizona, Donald Trump or Joe Biden?” Raskin asked.

“We don’t know because as the audit demonstrates very clearly, Mr. Raskin, there are a lot of issues with this election that took place,” Biggs replied.

After Raskin tried to interject, the Arizona representative accused him of taking part in a “big lie.”

“Speaking of the big lie, you can continue to perpetuate it as long as you want,” he said. 

Former President Trump has used the phrase to refer to Biden’s November win, which the courts and election observers have repeatedly found was legitimate.

The Oversight and Reform Committee listened to testimony from Arizona officials about the election and the subsequent Maricopa County audit during the hearing, which was entitled “Assessing the Election Audit in Arizona and Threats to American Democracy.” 

The audit results, which were released in September, showed that the number of ballots in Maricopa, the state’s largest county, broke for Biden by a 45,000-vote margin. 

Trump and his allies have repeatedly tried to undermine the 2020 election results, particularly in states such Arizona that Biden flipped.