Where GOP senators stand on objecting to Electoral College votes

Washington — The joint session of Congress scheduled to occur Wednesday for the counting and certifying of Electoral College votes is set to be marked by high drama, as Republicans in the House and Senate have pledged to challenge the results from several battleground states.

A group of at least 12 Republican senators have said they, along with more than 100 GOP House members, will object to the electoral votes cast in key states, charging their elections were rife with fraud despite no widespread evidence. But as the joint session nears, a growing number of Republican senators are breaking with their colleagues and plan not to sign on to their challenges.

Required under the Constitution, the event has in the past been perfunctory: In 2017, the process of reading and tallying electoral votes spanned 41 minutes, and in 2013, the joint session lasted just 23 minutes, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

While the objections are not going to result in a change in the outcome of the election, it will prolong the process by which Congress affirms President-elect Joe Biden's victory. When the House and Senate separate to debate and vote on an objection, they have up to two hours to consider it, meaning the joint session is likely to stretch well into the night.

The joint session is typically a formality, but this year's event will force Republicans to decide whether to back President Trump in his attempts to reverse the outcome of the election or uphold the votes cast by millions of Americans.

Only one of Georgia's GOP senators will be participating in the Electoral College — both Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are in runoff elections on Tuesday, but because Loeffler is filling the seat left vacant by Senator Johnny Isakson's retirement and that term is up in 2022, she remains a senator until the winner in her race against Democrat Raphael Warnock is certified. Perdue supports the actions of senators who oppose counting some of the electoral votes, but his term ended on January 3, and the winner of his race against Democrat Jon Ossoff won't be certified in time for the winner to be seated on January 6.

Here is where Republican senators stand, as of Tuesday:

Oppose the counting of electoral votes

1. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
2. Mike Braun of Indiana
   
3. Ted Cruz of Texas
4. Steve Daines of Montana
5. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee
6. Josh Hawley of Missouri
7. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
8. John Kennedy of Louisiana
9. James Lankford of Oklahoma
10. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
11. Roger Marshall of Kansas

12. Rick Scott of Florida

13. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama

14. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia

Support the counting of electoral votes

1. Roy Blunt of Missouri
2. John Boozman of Arkansas
3. Richard Burr of North Carolina
4. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
5. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
6. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota
7. Susan Collins of Maine
8. John Cornyn of Texas
9. Tom Cotton of Arkansas
10. John Hoeven of North Dakota
11. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma
12. Jerry Moran of Kansas
13. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
14. Rob Portman of Ohio
15. Mitt Romney of Utah
16. Ben Sasse of Nebraska
17. Tim Scott of South Carolina
18. Richard Shelby of Alabama
19. John Thune of South Dakota

20. Thom Tillis of North Carolina

21. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
22. Roger Wicker of Mississippi
23. Todd Young of Indiana

Unknown/unclear

1. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — Previously discouraged Republican members for objecting, and last week called the upcoming vote "the most consequential vote" he will cast.

2. John Barrasso of Wyoming

3. Mike Crapo of Idaho

4. Joni Ernst of Iowa

5. Deb Fischer of Nebraska

6. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

7. Chuck Grassley of Iowa

8. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi

9. Mike Lee of Utah

10. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia

11. Rand Paul of Kentucky

12. Jim Risch of Idaho

13. Mike Rounds of South Dakota

14. Marco Rubio of Florida

15. Dan Sullivan of Alaska

In:
• United States Electoral College
• United States Senate
• Republican Party