Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate received the full experience of being peppered by media members as well as his Democrat opponent, Joel Miller, about the 2020 Presidential Election. Pate was pressed by the media members on the show as well as Miller over “election deniers.”
The most interesting part of the nearly 30-minute panel was when Pate referenced Miller’s legal defeat in 2020 and the host of Iowa Press had no idea what he was talking about. More on that later…
As for his answers about “election deniers,” some of you will not appreciate Pate’s answer, some of you will be OK with it. Regardless, here it is.
And, more importantly, note how hostile the Des Moines Register “reporter” was in her question:
Brianne Pfannenstiel asked Pate what he would say to “election deniers.”
Pate said there is no “team jersey” to wear as Secretary of State.
“When you look at that last Presidential election, if we follow the laws on the books like we did in Iowa, then we have a legitimate winner and we need to recognize that,” Pate said. “I’d hope my colleagues in other states would follow suit with that.”
Pate was asked if he shared that message with his colleagues at the National Association of Secretaries of State.
“Most certainly,” Pate said. “I’m not shy about it. Again, there are those who want to play politics whether they are Republican or Democrat. And this is a position you have to be very sensitive of that — the commissioner of elections, not the commissioner of politics.”
Pate was asked if he committed to certifying the results of the 2024 Presidential Election in Iowa.
“Oh, most certainly. And that’s the way it should be,” he said. “States run elections.”
Miller was asked if he wanted to weigh in, but wasn’t ask anything specifically — instead just given a green light to attack after being tagged in by the media.
Miller criticized Pate for not disavowing “election deniers” Rudy Guiliani and President Donald J. Trump.
“There’s a direct line from Mike Lindell and Dr. Doug Frank who came to Buchannan County about a month ago and started basically conspiracy theories that result in voter challenges across this state, including 119 in my county that I have to hold hearings on next Monday,” Miller said.
Pate said he has made it clear individuals who spread “disinformation” about Iowa’s elections are wrong.
Here is the exchange where Pate had to be the one to bring up Miller’s legal loss of 2020. None of hte three journalists asked, and clearly none of them planned to ask since the host asked Pate what he was talking about.
It was widely publicized that Miller had illegally sent out pre-populated absentee ballot request forms in 2020.
You can watch that exchange, and Miller’s horrible non-answer trying to use “whataboutism” to explain his own neglect of state law.
Interestingly enough, after Miller failed to address his own illegal activity and attempted to attack Pate over his 2020 actions, Pate had a response ready to go.
And as he was finishing his response, the Iowa Press hosts noted they needed to “move on” from the topic.
