Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax has a grudge against Fox News for (correctly) calling that Joe Biden would beat Donald Trump in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election -- to the point that it took great umbrage that Fox News re-hired the analyst who made that (again, correct) call.
It was not shy, however, about making its own (and correct) early call in the Virginia gubernatorial election, so much so that Eric Mack devoted a Nov. 3 article to tooting his employer's horn, under the headline "Newsmax First to Call Virginia Gubernatorial Race for Youngkin":
Newsmax has declared GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin has defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial election, held alongside local and state races across the nation on Tuesday night.
Decision Desk HQ also made its early projection via tweet at 8:37 p.m. ET. The latest AP ballot results from Virginia will be updated live here.
A McAuliffe loss in Virginia, which Democratic President Joe Biden won by a double-digit margin over Republican then-President Donald Trump last year, would represent a demoralizing setback for national Democrats. McAuliffe saw his lead in public polls evaporate in the campaign's closing weeks.
McAuliffe came out to speak to his supporters at his election headquarters at 10:20 p.m. ET, but refused to concede the election, saying there was 18% of the vote remaining to be reported and he wanted to be sure every vote is counted.
Mack then touted Donald Trump's nastiness at McAuliffe and praise for his supporters in backing Youngkin.
This was followed by a Nov. 4 column by Dick Morris complaining that the networks didn't call Youngkin the winner, imagining that it was because McAuliffe was "preparing for a lawsuit to contest the election results" if he lost. He then lashed out at Fox News for also not calling the race early, like Newsmax did:
In 2020, in the face of massive evidence of Democratic chicanery, Fox News called Arizona for Biden 20 minutes after polls closed, largely at the reported prompting of Fox’s election decision desk director Arnon Absalom Mishkin.
Mishkin, a known Democratic operative with ties to both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, should have been fired for his unseemly haste on the election night of 2020
Instead, Fox News has stated they are re-hiring him for election coverage through the 2024 election.
It made no sense that outlets like Fox News hesitated all Tuesday night before bowing to the obvious and declaring Youngkin the winner.
Apparently, Fox News only declares races prematurely when the Democrat is winning.
Morris studiously omitted the fact that Mishkin's call was correct and has since been proven correct -- and the "massive evidence of Democratic chicanery" has never credibly surfaced.
