In the last few weeks, it has been hard not to read about stories of widespread voter fraud or how President Trump won elections. In one article, we read how Joe Biden won Georgia by just 12,300 votes out of nearly 5 million cast. We read how Trump's endorsement pushed J.D. Vance into the lead in the Ohio Senate race, and we read about how Trump paid for recounts in Wisconsin and Michigan. All of these stories seem to indicate that Trump may have won the election - but only after he won it.

Biden wins Georgia by a mere 12,300 votes out of nearly 5 million cast

The results are in, and Joe Biden is the winner in Georgia, a state where he holds a one-hundred-and-seventy-seven-vote lead over President Trump. Two weeks after Election Day, the Associated Press called the race, citing a hand-conducted audit. The AP said Biden won Georgia by about 12,000 votes over Trump, but the campaign has a chance to request a recount.

The result of the election is a bruising one, as both candidates face polarizing challenges. The Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler and the Democrat Jon Ossoff are both running in Georgia. A Democratic victory in Georgia would give Democrats a majority in both chambers, and the vice president would cast the tie-breaking vote. Likewise, a Republican victory would allow Mitch McConnell to stall his legislative agenda by putting pressure on other Senate Republicans.

Trump's endorsement pushes J.D. Vance to the front of the pack in Ohio Senate race

With President Donald Trump's endorsement, Republican J.D. Vance is now poised to advance in the race for the state Senate. The former president recently spoke to a packed room at a Holiday Inn in Independence. Vance is running on a platform of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods, securing our southern border, and holding big tech companies accountable for their policies. His supporters are hoping that Trump's endorsement will propel his campaign to the front of the pack.

Vance, a venture capitalist and Marine veteran, is up by a few percentage points in polls with Trump's endorsement. His ties to the former president have been extensive. He's appeared on Fox News and on the podcast of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. In recent public polls, Vance's support has barely crossed double digits. He has apologized for criticizing Trump but is still ahead of his competitors.

Trump claims widespread voting fraud robbed him of victory in Michigan

The Trump campaign has continued to attack the opponent of his choice in the state of Michigan, Tom Leonard. A former state house speaker, Leonard has strong ties to mainstream Republicans and is considered a strong contender to defeat DePerno in the fall election. But even before the election, Trump has been attacking Leonard as a weak candidate. The former president also called Leonard "a weak candidate" for the seat, but he was not in office when the election took place.

While he may have claimed widespread voter fraud, his arguments about election results in Michigan failed to convince many voters. In fact, election audits by Republican state legislators have shown no evidence of widespread election corruption. Yet, Trump has continued to attack Republican candidates who are not supporting investigations into alleged stolen elections. Further, Trump's attacks on the candidates who support investigations into voter fraud have fueled speculation about a possible conspiracy to undermine his campaign.

Trump pays for recounts in Wisconsin

The state of Wisconsin has approved a statewide vote recount, but the Trump campaign must pay for the recount up front. A complete recount is estimated to cost $7.9 million, but Trump has chosen to pay just $3 million to recount ballots in two counties. The state is currently experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases, which led the state's election officials to call for a recount. In response, Biden's campaign lawyers said that a Wisconsin recount would only reaffirm the election results and that they are confident in the Trump campaign's 11th-hour ballot toss.

If the recount process fails to deliver the election result that Trump claims it has, Republicans will seek to have the state Supreme Court review the election. The conservative-controlled court is unlikely to rule in favor of the Trump campaign, but the state is unlikely to dismiss any challenges brought by opponents. And if the Supreme Court decides to hold a hearing, the Trump campaign will not be a party to the case. But if the state isn't able to certify the election results within a month, the president can pay for the recount process himself.

Trump's legal team faces other headwinds

While the president's financial problems have taken center stage, his legal team faces other headwinds. Prosecutors in Georgia and Washington are investigating possible criminal charges against Trump. Despite being innocent of the charges, Trump's potential criminal exposure is still very real. And even though he's likely to dismiss the investigation as politically motivated witch hunt, the reality is much different. Here's a look at what Trump's legal team must do to combat this headwind.