FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 19, 2022
Statement from Candidate for Secretary of State Tom Cool on Monae Johnson’s Election Denial
Statement from Secretary of State Candidate Tom Cool:
“Monae Johnson raised serious questions about her judgement and her ability to manage future elections in her interview Tuesday with Keloland. She showed South Dakotans that we can’t trust her to oversee our elections fairly.
“She claims not to be an election denier, but her refusal to acknowledge the confirmed results of one of the most scrutinized elections of our lifetime is the very definition of ‘election denier’.
“The 2020 election was subjected to intense scrutiny, with the highest popular vote victory and second-widest electoral margin in 20 years amid record voter turnout. More than 60 costly lawsuits were filed challenging the results, and all but one were dropped, dismissed, or ruled against in courts of law. It’s far past time to accept the results and work together to move our state forward.
“South Dakotans deserve clear-eyed election officials, not radicals whose judgment is clouded by extreme partisanship, propaganda and conspiracy theories. That’s true for the Secretary of State, and true for our county auditors – especially in highly populated Minnehaha County.
“I promise the people of South Dakota that if they elect me to be their next Secretary of State, I will work hard to ensure that our state elections are fair, open and secure. I will strive to make certain that all eligible South Dakotans have easy access to registrations and the opportunity to vote, regardless of their party or other affiliations. I will manage the office with a steady hand and no drama.”
The Facts
When pressed by reporter Dan Santella to acknowledge the results of the 2020 presidential election, Monae Johnson was clear that she is an election denier, saying “I am not going to acknowledge that.”
Full Transcript:
Dan Santella: So there’s ambiguity – you acknowledge that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election?
Monae Johnson: I’m not an election denier, I just
Dan Santella: So, there’s ambiguity – you acknowledge that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election?
Monae Johnson: I’m not an election denier, I just, I want to move on, there’s other groups that are looking into that, and, but see the Secretary of State’s office does elections, but they also do business filings, so there’s so many more things that we need to look at.
Dan Santella: Right. So, Biden won the 2020 presidential election, legitimately?
Monae Johnson: I know you want me to answer that, but he’s our president right now.
Dan Santella: Okay. Do you acknowledge that he legitimately won in 2020?
Monae Johnson: I don’t want to be an election denier, but I wasn’t behind the scenes, I wasn’t in the office at the time.
Dan Santella: I wanted to give you an opportunity to acknowledge that, if you’d like, that he did win. Do you acknowledge that?
Monae Johnson: I’m not going to acknowledge that, so, thank you.
See the full video here: https://twitter.com/KELODanS/status/1582505645521395712.
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