■ An additional 11 current and incoming senators are joining the effort to contest the transition to Joe Biden.

They acknowledge effort unlikely to work

WASHINGTON — A growing number of Republican lawmakers are joining President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the election, pledging to reject the results when Congress meets next week to count the Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

On Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas announced a coalition of 11 senators and senators-elect who have been enlisted for the effort.

This follows the declaration from Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who was the first to buck Senate leadership by saying he would join with House Republicans in objecting to the state tallies during Wednesday’s joint session of Congress.

Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat is forcing Republicans to make choices that will set the contours of the post-Trump era. Hawley and Cruz are both among potential 2024 presidential contenders.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged his party not to try to overturn what nonpartisan election officials have concluded was a free and fair vote.

The 11 senators largely acknowledged on Saturday that they will not succeed in preventing Biden from being inaugurated on Jan. 20. But their challenges and those of House Republicans represent the most sweeping effort to undo a presidential election outcome since the Civil War.

“We do not take this action lightly,” Cruz and the other senators said in a joint statement.

They vowed to vote against certain state electors on Wednesday unless Congress appoints an electoral commission to immediately audit the election results. Congress is unlikely to agree to their demand.

The group includes Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana, and Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Brynn Anderson The Associated Press Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks Saturday at a campaign rally for Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., in Cumming, Ga. Cruz announced a coalition of 11 senators and senators-elect who have pledged to reject the results of the Electoral College votes on Wednesday.