A group of US Republican senators led by veteran lawmaker Ted Cruz said on January 2 they will challenge Joe Biden’s election win – the latest last-ditch move to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the vote.

The initiative, which appears certain to fail, flies in the face of rulings in dozens of courts and the findings by officials in several key states, that there were no widespread voting problems.

The Republicans’ statement, signed by Cruz and six other current senators along with four senators-elect, asserts that “allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes”.

The group said that when Congress convenes in a joint session on January 6 – for what normally would be a pro-forma certification of Biden’s victory – they will demand the creation of a special commission to conduct an “emergency 10-day audit” of the election results.

The statement says individual states could then convene special legislative sessions and potentially revise their vote totals.

Trump tweeted on January 2: “An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can’t let it happen!”

Posting a list of the 11 senators, Trump added: “And after they see the facts, plenty more to come . . . Our Country will love them for it!”

They join Senator Josh Hawley of the state of Missouri, who said earlier that he planned to raise objections on January 6.

A Republican member of the House of Representatives, Louie Gohmert, has also announced his plan to oppose certification, and more than 100 House Republicans reportedly will back his challenge.

Gohmert sought to further raise the stakes with a lawsuit that would have given Vice-President Mike Pence – traditionally in a ceremonial role in January 6’s session – the power to overturn the election result.

Pence opposed that effort, and a federal judge in the state of Texas on January 1 rejected the suit.

On January 2, a federal appeals court upheld that dismissal.

The Hawley and Gohmert challenges will ensure that Congress must meet to hear the complaints.

The Congress sessions, sure to be contentious, will play out against a backdrop of pro-Trump rallies in Washington, DC next week encouraged by the president himself.

As with Trump’s other attempts to reverse his election defeat, the latest political manoeuvring appears doomed. Democrats control the House, and many Republicans are expected to vote on January 6 for certification.

The 11 senators conceded that most Democrats and “more than a few Republicans” would likely oppose their initiative.

Among them is Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, whose state was a battleground that helped tip Biden into the win column. Its result is expected to be among those contested on January 6.

Toomey said on Twitter: “A fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders.”