Overview
Historically, Arizonans voted Republican in all presidential elections but one between 1952 and 2020. Yet given rapid changes in demographics, trends have begun to shift, with voters electing Democrats to both of the state’s Senate seats (in 2018 and 2022), along with its first Democratic governor in 16 years (in 2022).
In 2020 President Biden won the state of Arizona by a narrow margin—initially by as little as 10,000 votes, but ultimately, after multiple hand recounts and the infamous Cyber Ninjas “audit,” the margin increased to 45,469 votes (or 0.3%). Then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (a Democrat who has served as governor since 2023) certified Biden’s victory on November 30, 2020, confirming that he had won the state’s 11 Electoral College votes.
Roughly a dozen people with ties to Arizona have been charged for their roles in the attack on the Capitol—including the ”QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who was sentenced to more than three years in prison. Four members of Congress from Arizona were among the 147 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election on January 6, 2021.
Even though Arizona voters rejected all three election deniers who were running for statewide offices in 2022—Kari Lake for governor, Mark Finchem for secretary of state, and Abe Hamadeh for attorney general—election denialism remains problematic, with more than a third of elected officials now serving in the state legislature falling in that camp.
In addition, despite their 2022 electoral losses (and denying they lost), Lake and Hamadeh are running for federal office in 2024—for the Senate and House, respectively.
2020 Election Fallout
Based on the false narrative about voter fraud spread by Trump and his allies, election denialism has raged on in Arizona in the wake of the 2020 election.
Election Deniers Running for Congress
In Arizona, four incumbents and five other candidates running for federal office in 2024 have spread lies or conspiracies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election or taken steps to undermine the integrity of that and subsequent elections.
Election Deniers Running for Statewide Office
Only one candidate running for statewide office in 2024 has questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election. Rene Lopez is running to serve on the Arizona Corporation Commission, an elected position for the state’s public utilities regulatory agency. In 2022, when he ran in the GOP primary for a House seat in the 4th Congressional District, he expressed doubt about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and made allegations of fraud (at 26:53 in this PBS debate video). Arizona Central also considered him to be an “election questioner” at the time.
Election Deniers in the State Legislature
More than a third of the 90 members serving in Arizona’s legislature qualify as election deniers, including people in leadership positions in both chambers. The Election Threat Index compiled by Public Wise puts the number at 22 in the House of Representatives and 12 in the Senate. The States United Democracy Center identifies 18 representatives and 13 senators as deniers.
Election Deniers Administering Elections
At least a dozen county election administrators in Arizona parrot Trump’s claims of a stolen election and continue to spread disinformation about election integrity.
Election Deniers in GOP Leadership
Key GOP officials in Arizona still maintain that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and continue to spread misinformation about purported election fraud.