GOP consultant rages at Larry Elder's 'astonishing' screw-ups that wrecked party's chances of beating Newsom

A Republican consultant in California on Wednesday raged at failed GOP recall candidate Larry Elder for depressing his own voters' turnout numbers by regularly ranting about "voter fraud."

The Sacramento Bee reports that Ron Nehring, a former chair of the California GOP and adviser to rival Republican recall candidate Kevin Faulconer, called Elder's decision to promote conspiracy theories about election fraud costing him the election "astonishing," especially because he did it before any votes had even been counted.

"We can't have an evidence-based party if we are bullsh*tting people in advance that this election was stolen when it was not," Nehring said . "One way not to have Republicans win is by telling Republican voters that their votes don't matter... Lying to Republicans claiming an election was stolen, before a single vote or result had been published, is grossly irresponsible."

Nehring also said that Elder's Trump-loving campaign bailed Newsom out from what might otherwise have been a tough recall race.

"The overwhelming majority of Californians were not happy with the alternative, if that alternative was Larry Elder," Nehring said. "It is very unfortunate that a governor who has run out of ideas, Gavin Newsom, was provided a vector, was assisted in his effort to make someone else the issue."