As the country woke up Wednesday, Nov. 4, to competing predictions for the 2020 presidential election battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump, it grew clear that the days needed to count mail-in absentee ballots would stall rewards of electoral votes.

So have vote recounts and Republican lawsuits trying to change the results.

A week later on Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – results were still squeaky tight in several states – but not in Wyoming, where Trump won easily on Election Day in a very smooth, efficient process.

Trump and his fellow GOP supporters – including Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation – are now silent or in denial when asked about Biden’s victory, which faces court challenges.

Thursday, Biden won 290 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 217, according to the Associated Press.

This week, a Delaware Democratic senator said his Republican colleagues are “privately asking him congratulate President- elect Joe Biden ... because they can’t do so publicly.”

Trump supporters, however, are still stunned by Biden’s victory – much as the majority of the American public felt in 2016 when Trump was elected, according to media reports.

Quick questions

On Nov. 6, the Pinedale Roundup emailed press offices for U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, U.S. Sen.-elect Cynthia Lummis and reelected Rep. Liz Cheney, asking several questions “regarding the state of the U.S. election.”

• “Does he/ she also believe the election system is broken?”

• “If Biden wins, how will Sen. Barrasso/ Sen. Lummis / Rep. Cheney work with a Democratic president to advance the welfare of all Americans and Wyomingites?”

• “How will (you) help heal the divide in this country?”

Proven track record

Barrasso, who took office in 2007, is the Senate chair of the Environmental and Public Works Committee and chair of the Senate Republican Conference. Biden was first elected in 1972 and reelected six times, next serving eight years as vice president to former President Barack Obama. He and Biden are not strangers, but Barrasso avoided saying his name.

“As vote totals continue to update, Americans deserve confidence in a fair and transparent election,” Barrasso said in a Nov. 9 email. “The president is right to ensure that all legally cast votes be observed and counted. When the results are final, we’ll move ahead with the transition.”

Barrasso continued, “I have a proven track record of working with Democrats on legislation. I’ve sponsored bipartisan carbon capture, nuclear power, wildlife conservation, transportation and water infrastructure bills that have all been signed into law. I will continue to work in a bipartisan way on issues important to the people of Wyoming.”

Freshman senator

Lummis and her staff were in Washington, D.C., for a “pretty crazy” weeklong “freshman orientation for senator-elects,” said Kristin Walker, spokeswoman for Lummis who responded by email on Nov. 11.

“It is absolutely essential that Wyoming citizens – and all Americans have confidence in their election system,” Walker said. “We must ensure that every single legal ballot is counted. Where there are instances of fraud, we must root them out, correct and hold those responsible to account. Anything less

is a complete affront to the American rule of law and election integrity. “Senator-elect Lummis continues to stand with President Trump and believes that the votes and voices of the American people must be heard fairly.”

The statement also declines to acknowledge Biden.

“That being said, no matter who the President is, it is always a priority of Senator- elect Lummis’ to find solutions that put the American people and businesses first,” Walker said. “During her time in the House, she worked (and cosponsored legislation) with Democrats on the issues of proxy voting, public lands, tribal communities and bringing transparency to federal agency and department budgets. She will continue to work with Democrats on these critical issues and others where they can find common ground.”

Rep. Cheney’s press office did not respond to Pinedale Roundup emails or a call to her Washington, D.C., office by press time.

Most votes in

On Thursday, vote recounts continued in Georgia, where Biden led by 14,000. Officials hope to be done hand-verifying 5 million votes by Nov. 20.

Biden was projected early as president- elect by the Associated Press and now by many sources. Thursday, “battleground state” votes were nearly wrapped up in Colorado where Biden led with 55.3 percent, in Nevada with 50.2 percent, Minnesota with 52.6 percent and Michigan with 50.6 percent. Biden also won Arizona with 49.4 percent of 99 percent of votes counted.

Trump won Iowa with 53.2 percent, Florida with 51.2 percent and North Carolina with 50.1 percent.