HOUSTON (AP) — The Texas lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court docket to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has shortly turn out to be a conservative litmus check, with many Republicans signing onto the case at the same time as some have predicted it can fail.

The last-gasp bid to subvert the outcomes of the Nov. three election is the newest demonstration of President Donald Trump’s enduring political energy at the same time as his time period is about to finish. Seventeen Republican attorneys common are backing the unprecedented case that Trump is looking “the massive one” even though the president and his allies have misplaced dozens of instances in courts throughout the nation and haven’t any proof of widespread fraud. And 106 Republicans in Congress signed on to a court docket submitting Thursday in assist of Texas, claiming “unconstitutional irregularities” have “solid doubt” on the 2020 final result and “the integrity of the American system of elections.”

“The Supreme Court docket shouldn’t be going to overturn the election within the Texas case, because the President has instructed them to do,” tweeted tweeted Rick Hasen, an election legislation skilled and a legislation professor on the College of California, Irvine. “However we’re in unhealthy form as a rustic that 17 states might assist this shameful, anti-American submitting” by Texas and its lawyer common, Ken Paxton.

The lawsuit filed in opposition to Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin repeats false, disproven, and unsubstantiated accusations concerning the voting in 4 states that went for Trump’s Democratic challenger. The case calls for that the excessive court docket invalidate the states’ 62 complete Electoral School. That is an unprecedented treatment in American historical past: setting apart the votes of tens of hundreds of thousands of individuals, below the baseless declare the Republican incumbent misplaced an opportunity at a second time period as a consequence of widespread fraud.

Two days after Paxton sued, 17 states filed a movement supporting the lawsuit, and on Thursday six of these states requested to hitch the case themselves. Trump has acted to hitch the case, tweeting Thursday that “the Supreme Court docket has an opportunity to avoid wasting our Nation from the best Election abuse within the historical past of america.” Hours later, Trump held a gathering on the White Home, scheduled earlier than the go well with was filed, with a dozen Republican attorneys common, together with Paxton and a number of other others who’re backing the trouble.

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Nonetheless, a few of the high state Republican prosecutors urging the Supreme Court docket to listen to the case have acknowledged that the trouble is a protracted shot and are searching for to distance themselves from Trump’s baseless allegations of fraud. North Dakota’s Wayne Stenehjem, among the many 17 attorneys common supporting the case, mentioned North Dakota shouldn’t be alleging voter fraud within the 4 states at concern.

“We’re cautious on that,” mentioned Stenehjem, who famous that his workplace has acquired hundreds of calls and emails from constituents asking the state to assist the go well with. “But it surely’s value it for the Supreme Court docket to weigh in and settle it as soon as and for all,” he mentioned.

Montana Legal professional Basic Tim Fox known as the lawsuit “belated” and mentioned its possibilities “are slim at greatest.” However Fox supported Texas as a result of he mentioned the case raised “necessary constitutional questions concerning the separation of powers and the integrity of mail-in ballots in these defendant states.”

Fits introduced by Trump and his allies have failed repeatedly throughout the nation, and the Supreme Court docket this week rejected a Republican bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Biden’s victory.

Trump regarded straight previous the excessive court docket loss, claiming it didn’t matter as a result of his marketing campaign wasn’t concerned within the case, although it will have benefited if the case had continued. He has spent the week relentlessly tweeting concerning the Texas case with the hashtag “overturn” and claiming, falsely, that he had received the election however was robbed.

Lots of the attorneys common supporting the case have proven better political ambitions.

In Kansas, Republican Legal professional Basic Derek Schmidt, who’s contemplating a bid for governor in 2022, mentioned the Texas case introduced “necessary and probably recurring constitutional questions.” Schmidt’s announcement that Kansas would again the trouble got here solely hours after former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer — one other potential candidate for governor — tweeted that Schmidt’s workplace ought to be a part of the Texas litigation.

The case has stirred Republican infighting in Utah, the place GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who will turn out to be governor in January, blasted Legal professional Basic Sean Reyes for deciding to hitch the go well with.

“The Legal professional Basic didn’t seek the advice of us earlier than signing on to this transient, so we don’t know what his motivation is,” they mentioned in a joint assertion. “Simply as we might not need different states difficult Utah’s election outcomes, we don’t suppose we must always intervene in different states’ elections.”

Cox instructed reporters Thursday that there was no proof of widespread voter fraud that would change the result of the presidential election and “generally we simply lose.”

“There’s the chance that voter fraud has occurred, however you truly must have proof,” Cox mentioned. “I maintain ready for the smoking gun that has been promised. I’ve but to see it.”

Officers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin say the go well with is a publicity stunt.

“Since Election Day, State and Federal courts all through the nation have been flooded with frivolous lawsuits geared toward disenfranchising giant swaths of voters and undermining the legitimacy of the election. The State of Texas has now added its voice to the cacophony of bogus claims,” Pennsylvania Legal professional Basic Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, wrote within the state’s response filed with the court docket Thursday.

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Richer reported from Boston. Contributing to this report have been Related Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Sophia Eppolito and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake Metropolis.