GOP senator: No indication of widespread voting irregularities, window for Trump challenges is ‘closing’

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), an adviser to Senate Republican leadership, on Monday said there’s “no indication” that voting irregularities are widespread enough to change the outcome of the presidential election.

Capito, who won reelection earlier this month, said “the window for legal challenges and recounts is rapidly closing” and pledged to “respect the certified results” once they are reported.

She is the third Senate Republican since Saturday to put pressure on President Trump to abandon his legal challenges to vote counts showing Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election and to let the transfer of power begin.

Capito said Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris “should begin receiving all appropriate briefings related to national security and COVID-19 to facilitate a smooth transfer of power” in the “likely event” they take office next year.

Capito made her statement hours after the Cincinnati Enquirer published an op-ed by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) stating there has not been evidence of voting irregularities or fraud on a large enough scale to change vote tallies showing that Biden will be the next president of the United States.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who is poised to become the next chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, on Saturday called on Trump to accept the results of the election and said he had no path toward winning the key state of Pennsylvania. 

Capito on Monday afternoon said she also believes voting irregularities and fraud was not a widespread phenomenon and that Trump has little chance of catching up to Biden in several battleground states. 

“While some irregularities and fraud have been found and should be punished, there is no indication that these are widespread enough to call into question the outcome of the election,” Capito said in a statement. “I firmly believe in our electoral system and in the power of the voice of the people.”

While Capito said she voted to reelect Trump and was proud to support his policies, she observed that, “Unfortunately, election results from around the country indicate that our fellow Americans chose differently.”

“At some point, the 2020 election must end,” she said. “The window for legal challenges and recounts is rapidly closing as states certify their results in the coming days.”

“If states certify the results as they currently stand, Vice President Joe Biden will be our next president and Sen. Kamala Harris will be our next vice president,” she said. “I will respect the certified results and will congratulate our nation’s new leaders, regardless of the policy differences I might have from them.”