Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said this week that “Joe Biden is the President-elect,” but added that President Donald Trump is within his rights to challenge the results of the election.
“I think that we need to consider the former vice president as the president-elect,” DeWine, a Republican, told CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday. “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”
He added that “The White House, or the president and his campaign, has every right to go into court. Our courts are open. Our courts are the best place, frankly, to adjudicate facts. I’m a former prosecutor and I’m a great believer in the ability to have your courts and go in to make a case. And they have every right to do that and that looks like what they’re trying to do.”
DeWine previously issued public congratulations to Biden on Monday, after multiple news networks called the presidential race for the Democrat.
His remarks come in contrast to other top Ohio Republicans, like Ohio GOP leader Jane Timken, who said on Monday that the race isn’t over yet, and Democrats and the media have been “premature” in declaring Biden the winner.