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US Rep. Brian Mast in no rush to call Joe Biden president-elect

Lawmaker says he'll wait for courts, push for transparency
Posted at 3:14 PM, Nov 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-11 20:45:47-05

JUPITER, Fla. — Add U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., to the growing number of Republican lawmakers who have yet to publicly acknowledge that Joe Biden is the president-elect.

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Mast made the remarks Tuesday outside the Edna W. Runner Tutorial Center in Jupiter, where he spoke to students.

"Where are you on the outcome of the election?" a reporter asked the Republican lawmaker.

"I think you have a lot going on in the courts, and the courts need to have their opportunity to go out there and make their determinations on anything going on in each state," Mast said.

Despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud in any state, Mast said he would wait and push for transparency.

WEB EXTRA: US Rep. Brian Mast says he'll wait for court battles before calling Joe Biden president-elect

"It doesn't matter whether [you have a] non-party affiliation or a Republican or a Democrat, or whatever it is that you politically might label yourself, everybody deserves the most total transparency that can be given," Mast said. "So, that regardless of what happens, you have faith in what happened in that process."

He said he would have liked to have seen more transparency in some places, calling out Philadelphia for their handling of the election.

The Treasure Coast representative, the co-chair of President Trump's Florida reelection campaign, posted on Facebook on Nov. 6 that "it is critical that every legal vote is counted and any illegally-submitted ballot is not."

His Facebook post went on to say, "to ensure that happens, Americans need full transparency to observe the process so they can be sure that their votes -- and nothing else -- decided the result."

Mast won re-election last week, defeating Democratic challenger Pam Keith for the state's 18th Congressional seat.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody this week joined nine other Republican state attorneys general in challenging the results of the election.

Trump has filed lawsuits in multiple states, including Arizona, Pennsylvania and Michigan, alleging improprieties. A recount will be held in Georgia, where Biden currently leads by more than 14,000 votes.