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Kentucky Republicans Help Pave Way For Election Court Battles

People gather on Black Lives Matter Plaza on the north side of the White House where a tall metal security fence has been covered in protest signs, early Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, the morning after incumbent President Donald Trump was defeated by his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
People gather on Black Lives Matter Plaza on the north side of the White House where a tall metal security fence has been covered in protest signs, early Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, the morning after incumbent President Donald Trump was defeated by his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden.

Kentucky Republican leaders are lining up behind the Trump administration's push to challenge the 2020 election results in court.

People gather on Black Lives Matter Plaza on the north side of the White House where a tall metal security fence has been covered in protest signs, early Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, the morning after incumbent President Donald Trump was defeated by his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden.
Credit AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
People gather on Black Lives Matter Plaza on the north side of the White House where a tall metal security fence has been covered in protest signs, early Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, the morning after incumbent President Donald Trump was defeated by his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden.

While top GOP leaders in the commonwealth have refrained from repeating President Donald Trump's specific charges of widespread voter fraud in the presidential race, the party is reaching a consensus on how they plan to respond to the Democratic declaration of victory. Sen. Mitch McConnell offered a blueprint in a speech on the Senate floor Monday, making it clear he's not yet prepared to issue his congratulations.

"President Trump is 100 percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options," the majority leader said.

Sen. Rand Paul and Sixth District Congressman Andy Barr have also held off on recognizing a Biden win, saying for now the matter belongs in the courts.

The remarks followed news that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is set to join other Republican attorneys general in challenging the counting process for mail-in ballots in the closely-watched battleground state of Pennsylvania. A press release referred to the effort as "America's insurance policy" against the Biden/Harris agenda, but Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear questioned Cameron's involvement in the case.

"I have real concerns of using Kentucky dollars and Kentucky lawyers and taxpayer money to challenge a result in a different state for which we had no interaction with, we had no part in collecting any evidence on," the Democrat responded during his daily COVID-19 press briefing.

So far many suits filed by the Trump campaign have been dismissed on lack of merit, and a number of election experts argue the remaining legal alternatives appear unlikely to alter the outcome of the election.

Copyright 2020 WUKY

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now known as Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and Program Director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.