Kim Crockett won the Republican nomination for the Minnesota Secretary of State, becoming the latest election-denying politician advancing to the midterm polls in November. Crockett backed former US President Donald Trump’s claims of the 2020 election being “rigged.”

Kim Crockett defeated Erik van Mechelen, an opponent who was projected to give tough competition. Crockett secured more than 63% of the votes in Tuesday’s primary, with nearly all Minnesota counties voting in her favour.

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The Minnesota primaries have now set up an electoral faceoff between Crockett and Steve Simon, the incumbent Democratic Secretary of State who is seeking his third term. Simon got 73% of the votes.

Crockett has previously disputed the legitimacy

of the 2020 presidential elections, saying that the country should only allow “in-person voting” and stop the use of mail-in ballots. Roughly 58% of Minnesota voters cast ballots from their homes in 2020.

Why is this important?

The offices of the Secretary of State and Attorney General jointly decide how state-wide elections will be conducted. With multiple politicians already hinting at their 2024 Presidential runs, electoral rules of the state are likely to hold importance. 

Former US President Donald Trump has been endorsing candidates in almost all primary elections in the country, installing his preferred candidates in crucial offices.

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Earlier this month, Arizona Republicans voted in favour of Mark Finchem, another Trump supporter who said the 2020 elections were rigged. Mark Finchem was in the mob that attack the US Capitol on January 6.

This year, races for secretary of state have drawn tremendous interest and money largely because of the 2020 election, when voting systems and processes came under attack by former President Donald Trump and his supporters. There is no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting systems occurring in the 2020 election.