A prominent Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado claimed on Saturday that Republicans lost elections at least as far back as the 1990s due to electoral fraud.

Ron Hanks, a state official running to overthrow U.S. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet in 2022, said during an appearance on “Thanks-A-Thon,” a multi-day election conspiracy and campaign show produced by MyPillow CEO and Trump ally, who rejects the election, Mike Lindell.

“I think there has been fraud for a long time and we as Republicans, as Conservatives, have been graceful losers in races where there has certainly been fraud,” Hanks said.

As an example, he offered the 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial race between Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey and Democrat Parris N. Glendening, which Glendening won. Sauerbrey blamed his loss on a “stolen” election.

Hanks rejects 2020 election results and is to chase Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to undertake an independent “audit” of election results, similar to the audit conducted by Republicans in Maricopa County, Ariz., Which expert observers considered like a sham. Hanks visited the Arizona audit. He also has assisted Lindell’s Cyber ​​Symposium in South Dakota in August, where election conspirators gathered.

“My point is that we have to challenge these things harder and after 2020 I think we’re starting to do that now,” Hanks said on the show. “And the Colorado lawsuit against our secretary of state is a good place to start, and it’s based on the leadership we’ve seen in Arizona and the other states ahead that have a little better climate for it. kind of forensic audit that people demand.

Allegations that the 2020 election was fraudulent or compromised have been refuted by experts, courts and election officials of both parties.

Hanks has suggested that his entire campaign is a response to his finding that the election is rigged against Republicans.

“I came back from the Cyber ​​Symposium in South Dakota, and I asked out loud, ‘What more can I do in service of this cause and in defense of our nation’, and the answer came to me: “Run for the US Senate.”

It is said that Hanks is one of three sitting Republican lawmakers who crossed the line during the January 6 uprising on the United States Capitol. The other two are Senator Doug Mastriano of Pennsylvania and Representative Mark Finchem of Arizona.

Finchem, the Trump approved The Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state was Hanks’ guest in the “Thanks-A-Thon” segment, as was Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers.

Hanks announcement his candidacy for the Senate in October.