Focusing on fraud claims allows Republican officials to raise money and attention from devoted Trump supporters, according to former Republican National Committee communications director Doug Heye. It also helps lawmakers align themselves with Trump’s claims of widespread fraud, ingratiating themselves with the energized Trump grassroots as they try to claim more power in the party. “This is about two things, and these are symbiotic,” Heye said. “The continued fealty for all things Trump, and placating the base or the portion of the base that still can’t accept a clear loss.”... Trump won North Carolina by more than one percentage point. But in that state, members of the state legislature’s conservative Freedom Caucus are demanding an inspection of the voting machines used in 2020 to see whether they could have somehow been subverted to commit election fraud. In a statement, the Freedom Caucus said its members want to inspect voting machines to see if they have modems that could connect to the internet. In a statement posted to Facebook, state Rep. Keith Kidwell (R) said he wants the voting machines inspected by outside technicians, promising to put “the hard question to these guys about what is going on with the machines.”