Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to caution about possible Russian meddling in the Ohio special congressional election that took place Tuesday evening.
With Republican candidate Troy Balderson appearing to narrowly defeat Democratic challenger Danny O’Connor in the state’s 12th congressional district, the actress said she suspected votes for the Green Party spoiler were compromised.
“You know what sucks? Because of our unwillingness to pass policy that protects our election integrity, I immediately think the Green Party votes tonight are Russian meddling,” said Milano. “Why else would anyone cast a protest vote in Ohio when there’s so much at stake?#OH12”
You know what sucks?
Because of our unwillingness to pass policy that protects our election integrity, I immediately think the Green Party votes tonight are Russian meddling.
Why else would anyone cast a protest vote in Ohio when there’s so much at stake?#OH12
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 8, 2018
While (at the time of this writing) the vote share for Green Party candidate Joe Manchik still isn’t enough to have changed the balance of victory, it didn’t stop angry liberals from chiming in. Kathy Griffin also weighed in.
“Green Party voters..no one is saying you can’t vote for your candidates….but don’t tell me you care about the environment if you know your vote will make the difference between a Dem winning over a Rep and you still choose to vote for your candidate who has NO chance of winning,” she wrote on Twitter.
Green Party voters..no one is saying you can't vote for your candidates….but don't tell me you care about the environment if you know your vote will make the difference between a Dem winning over a Rep and you still choose to vote for your candidate who has NO chance of winning
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) August 8, 2018
On the other end of the Twitter political spectrum, Manchik was mostly celebrated.
Though the race hasn’t officially been called yet, Balderson (and Donald Trump) claimed a GOP victory last night as the final tallies came in. Since it is a special election, both Balderson and O’Connor will face off again in November during the congressional midterm elections.
Though U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly concluded that Russian meddling did not result in any votes changed during the 2016 contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, liberal voters remain on edge about the potential for interference in 2018 and beyond.