LAFAYETTE, La. — As we round out the third day after the election, analysis continues about what happened and what's next amid President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud. KATC's Scott Brazda is getting answers as to why the process is so complicated this time around.
There may be sunny skies across South Louisiana, a number of other states, a number of urban areas votes are being recounted and allegations are being made.
No one knows what to make of the gray political skies going across our country.
We asked UL Political Science Professor Pearson Cross to share his thoughts.
"Trump may have a legitimate beef," said Cross. "There may be election issues and so on, but he's not necessarily approaching it in a way that wins over people to his side."
In Cross's words, the chaotic victim blaming and claiming of things that aren't true in the presidential election tabulation isn't doing anyone any good, especially our country.
And at the heart of the post-election problems, he says, isn't that he thinks anyone is cheating, but that each of our 50 states handles absentee voting a little bit different.
"So in certain states, like Pennsylvania, they don't start counting absentee ballots until the day of the election, in other states they can count them when they come in and they're revealed, you know," said Cross.
The president, he adds, has actually had a very successful campaign.
"And the reason is, in the privacy of the voting booth, more people voted for Donald Trump in 2020 that they did in 2016," Cross said. "He won big. He just didn't win enough."
Zeroing in on Louisiana, Cross was surprised - particularly by the wide margins of victory for U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy and Congressman Clay Higgins.
In fact, he thought Higgins would have a tougher road.
"I kind of thought Clay would take a hit or take some heat for some of his very forthright statements about Black Lives Matter, or protesters or things like that," Cross said.
"He had some gaffes, and he's gotten some criticism for saying or doing certain things," said Cross. "I thought maybe he'll be down, but he was up and came through big."
And two days after his victory, Higgins was forthright yet again - using a fireside chat of sorts to turn up his support of President Trump.
"….Right now, and i have inside data, this election is compromised," Higgins said in a since deleted Facebook video. "Our president is not compromised. I stand with him."
The counting and recounting and election evaluation will continue - for the next few days at least. When does Pearson Cross expect there to be a winner?
"I'm betting later today," he said. "I'm hoping anyway. No I don't bet on things like that, but I'm hoping. "
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