Rick Scott will ‘likely’ join challenge to election results

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he will “likely” join a Republican challenge of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania on Wednesday when Congress votes to certify the results of the Electoral College.

Scott, in a statement Wednesday, vowed to hear any objections to the electors in the joint session of Congress that will certify Biden’s win.

“The situation in Pennsylvania is of particular concern to me, and I will likely vote to sustain the objection to their slate of electors,” Scott wrote. “The actions of the Governor’s Administration and the courts in Pennsylvania pose a serious threat to the integrity of future elections.

“The Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania, along with state courts, made a decision to allow votes to be counted that came in after election day, even if they did not have a postmark, in defiance of state law,” he added. “This is absurd, and cannot be tolerated.”

Biden would carry Pennsylvania even if the votes described by Scott were thrown out.

“It also appears that Pennsylvania enacted policies in direct conflict with its own state constitution, which is also unacceptable,” Scott wrote. “We simply cannot tolerate partisan political attempts to change the rules and tip the scales in our elections.”

Read my statement ahead of today’s Electoral College proceedings: pic.twitter.com/MDf5dEg8ED

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) January 6, 2021

At least 13 other senators, including likely 2024 presidential candidates Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have announced they will object to the results Wednesday, triggering hours of debate and a formal vote.

The objections will not prevent Biden from taking office Jan. 20, and several Republican senators have said they will not join the effort, including Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Scott’s fellow Florida GOP senator, Sen. Marco Rubio, has not yet publicly said whether he will join the challenge.