Biden to ask voters to protect democracy from election lies

WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of reassuring talk about America's economy and inflation, President Joe Biden is turning to a darker, more urgent message, warning in the final days of midterm election voting that democracy itself is under threat.

The president, who has been focused on drawing an economic contrast between Democrats and the GOP, is aiming to shine a spotlight on “ultra MAGA” Republicans — a reference to former President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again" slogan — and mounting concerns over political violence. The speech comes days after a man seeking to kidnap House Speaker Nancy Pelosi severely injured her husband, Paul Pelosi, in their San Francisco home and as physical threats have rattled members of Congress and election workers.

Emphasizing that it is the first federal election since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Trump's attempts to overturn the will of voters in the 2020 presidential election, Biden will call on voters to reject candidates who have denied the results of the vote — which even Trump's own administration declared to be free of any widespread fraud or interference.

“As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America, for Governor, for Congress, for Attorney General, for Secretary of State, who won’t commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in,” Biden will say, according to prepared remarks released by the Democratic National Committee. “That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And, it is un-American.”

Biden will ask voters to “think long and hard about the moment we are in.”

“In a typical year, we are not often faced with the question of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put it at risk,” he will say. “But we are this...