Conspiracists seeking key state election posts falling short


              Republican Secretary of State candidate Kim Crockett chats with supporters at the GOP election-night party Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in St. Louis Park, Minn. (Renée Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, attends an Election Night party, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
            
              Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks during his election night campaign gathering at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, Pa., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Democrat Josh Shapiro won the race for governor of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
            
              Jim Marchant, GOP nominee for secretary of state in Nevada, attends a campaign event Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas.  (AP Photo/John Locher)
            
              FILE - Arizona Secretary of State Republican candidate Mark Finchem listens to instructions prior to debating Democratic challenger Adrian Fontes, on Sept. 22, 2022, in Phoenix. Races for secretary of state offices are some of the most consequential contests on the ballot. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
            FILE - From left, Rachel Hamm, former California Secretary of State candidate, Audrey Trujillo, candidate for New Mexico Secretary of State, Kristina Karamo, candidate for Michigan Secretary of State, Mark Finchem, candidate for Arizona Secretary of State and Jim Marchant, candidate for Nevada Secretary of State, attend a conference promoting conspiracy theories about voting machines and discredited claims about the 2020 presidential election at a hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol, File) FILE - Former President Donald Trump, left, listens as Michigan Republican secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo speaks during a rally at the Macomb Community College Sports & Expo Center in Warren, Mich., Oct. 1, 2022. Campaign spending in races to oversee state election is setting new records. It's been spurred by candidates who echo Trump's lies about fraud costing him the 2020 presidential election. Trump is backing many of these candidates to take top elections posts in critical swing states. (Todd McInturf/Detroit News via AP, File)