{"id":2593,"date":"2026-06-08T21:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/republicans-soft-launch-their-2026-election-disinfo-campaign-with-california-freakout\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:21:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:21:00","slug":"republicans-soft-launch-their-2026-election-disinfo-campaign-with-california-freakout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/republicans-soft-launch-their-2026-election-disinfo-campaign-with-california-freakout\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Soft Launch Their 2026 Election Disinfo Campaign With California Freakout"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

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Big Lie 2026 Gets Underway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was already burbling up in various venues toward the end of last week, but it officially got underway over the weekend: the long-expected 2026 midterm election disinfo bonanza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, the extremely predictable claim is this: That as we all watch California slowly, slowly tally its millions of mail-in ballots, we are in fact watching a Democratic plot to steal the election unfold in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Trump asserted<\/a> as early as election night that this fantastical scheme was underway \u2014 and spilled the beans that his DOJ was investigating \u2014 the conspiracy theory ripened on Friday and through the weekend, as DSA-backed City Councilmember Nithya Raman surpassed conservative cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre Spencer Pratt in the LA mayor race, quashing Pratt’s hope of ousting incumbent mayor and first-place winner Karen Bass in November. It was an outcome many trained election analysts predicted way back on the evening of primary day, but that has still prompted deranged reactions<\/a> among the full spectrum of conservative and reactionary influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The particularly Trumpy<\/a> top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, made his entrance<\/a> into the fever swamps on Friday, noting that his office has \u201cmultiple election fraud investigations underway\u201d \u2014 though he did, in a separate social media post late that night, attempt to debunk<\/a> a specific, absurd claim circulating online: that Pratt got \u201czero votes\u201d in one ballot drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump has a meltdown and ends the interview
Welker: Just to be very clear, there's no evidence of what you're saying.
Trump: There\u2019s a lot of evidence. There\u2019s tremendous evidence. There\u2019s nothing but evidence. The election was rigged. And it\u2019s happening again in California.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8xcPKFGE6m<\/a><\/p>— Acyn (@Acyn) June 7, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, Trump leaned hard<\/a> into the conspiracy theory before storming off Meet the Press. \u201cThe election was rigged,\u201d he declared of 2020. \u201cIt was a dirty election. And it\u2019s happening again right now in California.\u201d That claim only further inflamed<\/a> the various self-appointed election administration experts dismayed about Pratt. And on Monday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson opined that the election “stinks to high heaven.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream that it\u2019s impossible to prove, but I think everybody knows instinctively, something is wrong here, and that\u2019s a concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaker Johnson, like Trump, sowing doubts on CA results.
I asked him about any evidence to back up their claims
\u201cSome of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream it is impossible to prove,\u201d he said. \u201cBut think everybody knows instinctively something is wrong here.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/bHamWVGpEy<\/a><\/p>— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 8, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

California officials are quick to point out that their state processes a huge number of mail-in ballots, and their ambling process of reporting election returns is a byproduct of the fact that they must ensure the accurate, secure tally that MAGA activists profess to want. The state mails a ballot to everyone registered, and election workers must carefully inspect each one returned, the envelope it comes in, and the voter\u2019s signature. Because Republicans tend to vote in greater numbers on Election Day, the days- or weeks-long tallying of mail-in ballots tends to see a shift toward Democrats in the state\u2019s top-two primary system, dismaying Republicans and, in recent years, prompting conspiracy theories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Pulte’s Big, New, Retribution Job Derails Another Congressional Vote<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act \u2014 the warrantless wiretapping program \u2014 is one of those rare votes of Congress, these days, that doesn’t fall neatly along party lines. Some Republicans and some Democrats support it, some Republicans and some Democrats oppose it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, last week, after Trump nominated his buddy, Bill Pulte, as acting Director of National Intelligence \u2014 a job Pulte seemingly got by combing through the mortgages of people Trump doesn’t like and accusing them of crimes \u2014 Section 702 lost its bipartisan sheen. Democrats came together to oppose it<\/a>, saying they would not let the program move forward until Pulte was removed. Some Republicans voted with them for reasons unrelated to Pulte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Democrats are standing their ground. \u201cReversing the Bill Pulte appointment is a starting point, not an ending point,\u201d Hakeem Jeffries told reporters<\/a> Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s War and Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s Ceasefire <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Emine Y\u00fccel and Josh Kovensky have been chronicling for TPM, the administration has insisted that it doesn\u2019t need Congress\u2019 green light for its war in Iran because there is no war<\/a>. And, if there is in fact found to be a war, White House lawyers further insist, it was \u201cterminated<\/a>\u201d by a ceasefire that began this spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, its not so clear there even is a ceasefire<\/a>. Iran lobbed missiles at Israel over the weekend. Israel lobbed them back. Trump \u2014 at first, largely unsuccessfully<\/a> \u2014 sought to constrain Israel\u2019s response. It seems the exchange of fire has quieted, for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, the situation means that the White House’s claim that it doesn’t need Congress’ sign-off for this war is looking more absurd than ever. On Monday, 36 Democrats in the Senate sent a letter<\/a> to the White House observing that its reasoning “stands in sharp contrast with the text of the War Powers Resolution, the relevant legislative history, domestic and international law, and past interpretations made by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and the State Department under Administrations of both parties.” They demanded to see the OLC reasoning that informed this questionable perspective. (TPM scooped<\/a> last week that this letter was in the works.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and the deteriorating relationship between Trump and Senate Republicans, will almost certainly will give rise to further votes of the sort we have now seen in the House and the Senate, attempting to force Trump to end the war. Because these War Powers Act bills would be subject to Trump\u2019s veto, they\u2019re unlikely to do much in the short term \u2014 but they highlight a growing divide in the Republican Party and channel American\u2019s frustration with Trump\u2019s most sweeping (so far) misguided intervention abroad as voters get ready to cast ballots in the midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Case You Missed It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today’s deep dive: <\/strong>\u2018Ugly Language\u2019 and Nervous Funders: Inside the Trump Administration\u2019s Attack on Harm Reduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPM Cafe: <\/strong>How the Right Captured State Power as a Weapon in Its Anti-Government Crusade<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rough Edges: <\/strong>From Sonic Booms to Mystery Drones: How Science-Based Panics Take Hold<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning Memo: <\/strong>DOJ to Courts: Don\u2019t You Dare Touch the Already-Dead Slush Fund<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Editor’s Blog: <\/strong>Gordon Wood Dies at 92<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday\u2019s Most Read Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Worst Advice for Democrats on How to Win Elections<\/a> \u2014 Allegra Kirkland and Derick Dirmaier<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What We Are Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Substackist politics of Nick Bilton and the AI-bootleg crisis<\/a> \u2014 Max Read, Read Max<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bot web traffic has overtaken human web traffic, data shows<\/a> \u2014 Samantha Elkins, NBC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham Platner is a Type of Guy<\/a> \u2014 John Ganz, Unpopular Front<\/p>