While early voting is just days away for the 2024 presidential race, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is preparing for the storm he expects to hit soon after Nov. 5, if former President Donald Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I believe that [Vice President] Kamala Harris is going to be the next president of the United States, and then I think all hell's going to break loose on November 6th,” Tong said.
The state’s top attorney, a Democrat, is also the vice president of the National Association of Attorneys General, where he collaborates with his counterparts on both sides of the aisle.
Tong spoke about the chances of legal challenges to the vote results, particularly in swing states, during an interview with Connecticut Public.
“I have the highest possible level of concern. So, if there’s an 11 on the concern meter, it’s 11,” he said.
Tong recalls a tense moment from the 2020 presidential election, when 18 Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results.
“That was a really bad moment,” he said.
Preparations for a fight underway
After Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in 2020, he and his team filed dozens of lawsuits in various state and federal courts to reverse the election results and keep him in power. So far in our current election cycle, Trump and his allies have already filed over 100 lawsuits across the so-called swing states.
Tong indicated he and other like-minded Attorneys General across the country are ready for another post-election fight.
“We have teams of lawyers ready to go,” he said, explaining that various legal teams are poised to respond quickly to any issues that arise. “Outside advocates are also ready to go, like Planned Parenthood, which has its own strategy on reproductive freedom and protecting women.”
While Tong acknowledged that scenarios are being mapped out to anticipate potential challenges, he also indicated the limits of that sort of pre-planning.
“You run simulations or you script your first 15 plays,” Tong said. “But to quote Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the nose.”
Preparing for a fight with GOP attorneys general
One of those "punches in the nose" could again come from conservative attorneys general.
On Aug. 9, Republican state attorneys generals filed a lawsuit to throw out a Biden administration order to promote more widespread voter registration. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has prosecuted over 100 election fraud cases, and he filed a lawsuit trying to get the results of the 2020 Presidential Election thrown out.
“It’s not great,” Tong said.
But Tong also notes that these are colleagues he often works with on other issues.
“We do a lot of business with Texas,” he said, including shared efforts on opioid litigation and investigations into social media companies.
Regarding the possibility of Republican attorneys general joining in post-election efforts to challenge results, Tong was candid.
“AGs are one of the last corners of public life in which we put our weapons down and we work together,” Tong said. “But that doesn't mean sometimes we don't pick up those weapons and have a fight, and I expect that that's what's going to happen.”
Even as he expressed concern about partisanship, Tong stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open.
“I’ve got to keep, if not a front door, a back door open to my colleagues on the other side of the partisan divide,” he said.
Differences between 2020 and 2024
There are significant differences in this presidential election cycle as compared to the last that could play a factor in the ultimate outcome.
First, Trump is not running as the incumbent this time. Also, new laws have been put in place to make it more difficult to influence election results. Tong pointed out two other key differences.
“We’re not in COVID,” he said, explaining that many previous lawsuits centered around pandemic-era restrictions, which won’t be a factor this time.
He also believes that the public is more aware of the potential for election disputes.
“Everyone’s on to [Trump’s] game,” Tong said. “People in swing states in particular are ready for this fight in the way they weren’t before.”
Yet, even with these changes, Tong’s concerns are heightened by what he describes as an increasingly extreme political climate.
“The insanity is even more insane,” he said, referencing the former president’s rhetoric. “When you're that unhinged and disassociated from reality, you're capable of doing anything.”
Tong added that his biggest fear is how others might respond to Trump’s words.
“That’s what we saw on January 6th,” Tong said. “They were incited to violence, and they went to it.”
Relative calm in Connecticut
Amid all of his concerns about how the national election will play out, Tong indicated it feels good not to have those concerns about elections in the state he calls home.
“We have safe elections, we have orderly elections, we have great registrars and town clerks,” Tong said.
There are a few challenges here or there, but largely, Tong said, the voting process is very organized.
“Election days in Connecticut are super boring,” he said. “But that’s great!”
