Donald Trump Claims Millions Voted Illegally, Clinton Team Fires Back, Democrats Turn to 2018 Governors' Races and More

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be getting hot under the collar as a movement to recount votes in four key states is gaining steam. Green Party nominee Jill Stein has spearheaded the effort and, as of Monday morning, has raised more than $6 million to cover filing fees and lawyers to oversee the process. The Hillary Clinton camp, which initially stayed clear of Stein's initiative, later said it would participate because so many of her voters asked the campaign to be part of it.

As the fundraising gained steam last week, Trump shot comments across Twitter denigrating Stein and her efforts. However, on Sunday, Trump tweeted throughout the day on the matter, including floating conspiracy theories: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump tweeted late Sunday, one of more than 10 tweets on the issue.

Top Stories

Trump Pushes Conspiracy Theory That ‘Millions’ Voted Illegally for Clinton: "President-elect Donald Trump spent Sunday ridiculing Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for joining a recount effort in Wisconsin, ending his day on Twitter by parroting a widely debunked conspiracy theory that her campaign benefited from massive voter fraud." (The Washington Post)

Clinton Team Starts Firing Back at Trump: "The remnants of Hillary Clinton’s campaign roared to life on Sunday, their Twitter feeds boiling over in frustration as President-elect Donald Trump falsely claimed that 'millions' of illegal immigrants had tipped the popular vote in her favor." (Politico)

Democrats Look to 2018 Governors' Races For Rebuild: "Shell-shocked Democrats looking to recover from 2016 see the large slate of upcoming governors' races as their most likely path out of the political wilderness — starting in the Midwest." (Politico)

Sanders Calls for Assessment of Electoral College: "Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday it is time to re-examine the Electoral College, after Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to President-elect Donald Trump." (CNN)

From the Twitterverse

Donald Trump went on a Sunday Twitter rant to complain that he would have won the popular vote, too, if it wasn't for voter fraud. Unwittingly, he simultaneously gave credence to the call for a recount, which he has been fighting against.

Today's Numbers

• As of Monday morning, Jill Stein has raised $6.2 million to fund the 2016 recount effort in four states.
• Nearly 80 percent of Americans say the country is more divided than ever.
• Ice rink closes after 5,000 sea creatures are found frozen to it.
• Syrian government forces have captured one-third of the rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo.

Quote of the Day

Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway on her boss considering Mitt Romney serving as secretary of state:

“There was the 'Never Trump' movement and then there was Governor Mitt Romney,” Conway said. “He went out of his way to hurt Donald Trump.”

Allen McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons