GOP congressman who tried to toss 2020 election results launches Senate bid on Fox News

Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) announced his candidacy for the Senate seat in Missouri on Fox News after working to throw out millions of Biden votes that were cast in the 2020 presidential election.

Long made his announcement on Tuesday’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” telling host Tucker Carlson that “the Bill of Rights is out, the Constitution’s out, the communism’s in, socialism’s in” under the leadership of President Joe Biden.

Long and other Republican candidates have chosen to make their campaign announcements on Carlson’s program despite the host’s history of racist comments, which led to a loss of advertisers for the show. Carlson has also repeatedly aired misinformation about the COVID-19 virus and vaccines.

The Missouri congressman has been a longtime supporter of Trump and in 2019 appeared in the House with fake $45 notes with Trump’s face on them stuffed into his breast pocket. Politico reported that Long made his decision to run for the Senate seat, which is being vacated by the retirement of GOP Sen. Roy Blount, after meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

The outlet noted that there is “widespread concern” among Republicans that former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who is also running, could give Democrats a chance at winning the seat due to previous allegations of sexual assault against him.

A 2018 report from an investigative committee of the Missouri Legislature found the accusation of assault against Greitens “overall credible.”

On Fox, Long told Carson, “I’m the guy that can win that Senate seat in Missouri and make sure that we don’t have a big race there.”

In the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election, Long promoted false conspiracy theories that fraud had occurred in the race, just as Fox News promoted similar theories casting doubt that Biden won fairly in the 2020 election

Long was one of 126 House Republicans who signed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case of Texas v. Pennsylvania. Filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton directly with the court, the suit sought to overturn the election by barring Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — all of which voted for Biden — from casting their electoral votes.

Ultimately, the court decided not to hear the case, noting that Texas lacked standing to oppose the certification of the votes in question.

After that failure, Long announced in December 2020 that he would object to the certification of the election result. In an accompanying statement, he falsely claimed that the voting process had been “spoiled and abused” by local election officials in favor of Biden and argued, “The reported results of this past November’s Presidential election don’t even pass the most basic eye test.”

Even after a mob of pro-Trump protesters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in hopes of stopping the certification, Long joined other Republicans in objecting to the results. That effort failed, and Biden was certified as the election winner.

The Senate seat has been rated as a likely “hold” for Republicans by the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.