Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton says he will accept 2024 election results

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Sunday said that he would accept the 2024 election results and would vote to certify the results in 2025, just as he did in 2020.

"I don’t think Congress has the constitutional authority to reject my electors that have been certified by a state," Cotton said during an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

He added, "I will accept the results of the election and certify them if it’s a fair and a free election."

Cotton is rumored to be on the shortlist as a potential vice presidential pick for former president Donald Trump.

Asked whether he would accept an invitation to serve as Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Cotton said he hadn’t spoken to Trump or his campaign about it, but said, “Any great patriot, if offered a chance to serve our country by the president would have to consider it seriously.”

In recent weeks, other Republican senators rumored to be on the shortlist, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina, have refused to say on "Meet the Press" whether they would accept the results this year. Scott later said he would "certainly" vote to certify the election.

Cotton defended his decision to break from others in his party, including the former president, when he voted to certify the 2020 election for President Joe Biden.

"[Trump and I] had a disagreement about what can happen that day," Cotton told moderator Peter Alexander, "I don't think Congress has the -- has the constitutional authority to reject electors and as a practical matter, it was never going to happen."

Asked about whether he would support Trump's goal of pardoning those who have been charged with various crimes stemming from their action on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol, Cotton said Trump