Official who embraced Trump election claims launches Colorado secretary of state bid
A Colorado county clerk who embraced former President Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election, on Monday announced that she is launching a campaign for Colorado secretary of state.
Tina Peters announced her bid on an episode of former Trump White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, according to The Washington Post.
“Colorado deserves a secretary of state who will stand up to the Biden administration. … And, Steve, that’s why today I’m announcing that I’m running for Colorado secretary of state,” she reportedly said.
Current Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) issued a lawsuit last year against Peters, calling for her to be stripped of her election oversight powers in Mesa County after passwords for voting machines were discovered online and hard drive copies were presented at an event MyPillow executive Mike Lindell hosted, the news outlet noted.
Lindell has also spread unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Last October, a Colorado judge officially banned Peters from overseeing the county’s elections, ruling that she was “untruthful” when carrying out her duties and allowed a non-employee to copy the voting machines’ hard drives, the Post reported.
Peters pushed back on the allegations, saying that she wanted copies as proof of alleged evidence of fraud. She also slammed the lawsuit as a “power grab,” according to the Post.
Bannon lauded Peters in the Monday podcast episode, dubbing her “an American hero” and comparing her to Trump, the Post reported.
Peters reportedly described herself as “the wall between your votes and nationalized elections.”
“They’re coming after me because I’m standing in their way,” she said.
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