At Issue: Republican Tom Emmer points to “process” in presidential election

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, wouldn’t say whether President Donald Trump should concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden when asked during a wide-ranging interview on “At Issue with Tom Hauser.”

Biden secured enough electoral votes, approved by different state officials, over the weekend to officially pass the 270 mark to win the White House. Usually, the rubber-stamping process is a non-headline, but Trump continues to question the results – and many Republicans across the country remain in lockstep with him.

Asked if Trump should concede, Emmer instead said the election is still going through its “process.”

“Everybody has the right to count every vote. Right now, we’re in a process where the media wants to call the race, the media wants to create this situation that they’re the ones that determine when people are done with the process,” he said. “It’s about making sure that everybody – people that voted for Joe Biden, people who voted for Donald Trump, or people who voted for somebody else – that they know every legitimate vote is counted and they have confidence in the outcome.

“There’s a process,” Emmer continued. “The process is the votes are cast, if there’s a question, there are recounts, there are signature verifications. This time across the country, mail-in ballots threw a whole new curveball into it. And then if you have specific areas where there’s more to be done, you do have the right to go to a court to have a difference of opinion result. That’s all following the process. It’ll be resolved soon."

Emmer, who has won every Congressional election in a landslide since 2014, also pivoted when asked if he’s considering a run for Minnesota governor. Emmer ran for the state’s chief office in 2010 when he lost to Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) by 8,770 votes.

“I’m here to serve the people of Minnesota, the people of the 6th District,” Emmer said. “I’ll continue to do that wherever I can best serve; I’m gonna continue to do that. I’m honored to be Minnesota’s representative of Congress from Minnesota’s 6th District.”

Emmer was also recently re-elected as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, where he’s tasked with overseeing Republican campaigns across the country. With more than a dozen pickups across the country, putting a dent in the Democrats’ majority in the U.S. House, Emmer said he was confident the entire campaign cycle, even when pundits suggested otherwise.

“I think if you came to Washington and talked to the people that are here, they’d tell you that I’m one of the only ones who kept saying, ‘We’re gonna win seats.’ I told them months ago, ‘We’re gonna win seats,’” Emmer said.

The wins include flipping Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, where longtime DFLer Collin Peterson lost to former Minnesota Lt. Gov. and State Sen. Michelle Fischbach. Emmer claims that race – and others – are a microcosm of a movement across the country to elect Republicans.

“If you look at Main Street all across the country, we’ve already got the most diverse party you’re going to see – and we’ve got a diversity of ideas as well,” Emmer told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “One of our goals was to make sure that our incoming members more better reflect the diversity of the Republican Party of Main Streets across this country.”

The Republican Congressman was also optimistic about the possibility of a COVID-relief package coming out of Washington “come Monday or Tuesday next week.” Emmer blamed Democratic leadership for failing to bring forward a bill, even while millions of Americans will see their benefits run out in weeks.

Emmer told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that “there’s been an urgency from the majority of us in Congress” but “political elites” like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have stonewalled discussions and have changed priorities.

“This week, we should’ve been doing coronavirus relief aid stuff,” Emmer said. “We should have been having a debate over where it’s needed and how to do it and how we repurpose PPP dollars that were issued through the CARES Act… Instead we’re talking about big cats in game preserves and talking about marijuana.

“The average American,” he said. “Wants to get back to living and wants to make sure they’re gonna be able to survive."