Where the VP contenders stand on Trump’s biggest issue: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, campaign embed Alec Hernández outlines what Donald Trump's VP contenders have said about accepting the 2020 — and 2024 — election results. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd explains why needed to debate Trump earlier than the fall.

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Where Trump’s VP contenders stand on accepting the 2020 (and 2024) election results

By Alec Hernández

No matter how much closer the country gets to the 2024 election, Donald Trump can’t stop looking back to the one four years ago.

On the campaign trail, the former president consistently brings up his unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him by Democrats. He has even said he doesn’t really want to hire anyone on his campaign who accepts that Joe Biden won in 2020.

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Yet a number of politicians considered top contenders for becoming Trump’s running mate did just that and now have to show their loyalty to the former president in other ways. Others, however, have long been vocal about their false claims of a rigged election.

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a fervent Trump supporter on Capitol Hill, notably voted against certifying Pennsylvania’s election results even after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Sen. JD Vance of Ohio has been a megaphone for Trump’s stolen election claims and has signaled that he would have declined to certify the election had he been in then-Vice President Mike Pence’s position.

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