Burgess Owens, who won the race in Utah’s 4th Congressional District, believes President Donald Trump will accept the results of the election if his claims of widespread voter fraud don’t bear fruit, but he believes that the issue deserves a thorough investigation.
“I have no doubt President Trump would do the right thing when everything is certified and the legal process has been exhausted,” said Owens, during a Thursday interview with Fox Business Channel’s Neil Cavuto.
“This is what conservatives do. We don’t go out and burn buildings and tear down monuments,” he said. “When the game is over, we accept it. We accept the results and then go out and start building for the next game. That’s the way it’s always been done.”
Trump has so far refused to concede the election, claiming President-elect Joe Biden only prevailed because of fraud. There is no evidence that widespread fraud had any role in Biden’s win, and Trump’s legal challenges to the vote have been largely unsuccessful.
Despite that lack of evidence, Owens does think that Trump should continue investigating possible fraud, which is the same stance adopted by many Republicans, including the Utah Republican Party. Sen. Mitt Romney is one of the lone contrary voices in the GOP, tweeting a short statement Thursday evening that said the president has “failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy.
“It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American president,” he added.
Several times since Election Day, Owens has made unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. Before his victory over Rep. Ben McAdams was assured, Owens’ campaign sent fundraising emails accusing Democrats of trying to “steal the election” away from him.
During the interview on Fox News, Owens again repeated his evidence-free claim that Democrats have been cheating for years, suggesting that Democratic officials have been “playing games” with election results.
Trump reportedly has been making noise about running for president again in 2024. Owens, who tied himself closely to the president during his campaign, said he believes Trump would have a good chance at winning a second term four years from now.
“At some point America will find out how well we did [during the Trump administration]. It might be because if Biden does take over, we’ll see what misery looks like once again,” Owens said. “We need to make sure we get back to the hope and life and pursuit of happiness we’ve experienced throughout the years.”
