In Arizona four incumbents and 10 other candidates who ran for federal office in the 2024 GOP primary 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. The candidates sill in the running after the July primary include:
- Kari Lake | Senate
A former Fox News anchor, Kari Lake is a Trump loyalist who entered politics in 2021 to run for governor of Arizona. When she lost, she refused to concede (like a true MAGA Republican), and quickly set her sights on running for the U.S. Senate in 2024. Since the 2020 election, Lake has thrown herself into spreading the Big Lie and spewing far-right vitriol, a strategy that has fueled her sudden rise in politics and brought her ongoing endorsements from Trump. When she won the GOP Senate primary in July 2024, besting fellow election denier Mark Lamb, AZ Central ran the wry headline: Why isn’t Kari Lake screaming about election fraud? Oh, right. Because she won. - David Schweikert | House (AZ–1)
Representative David Schweikert is a conservative incumbent who has represented Arizona in the House since 2011 but only won reelection in 2022 by a very narrow margin. Democrats hope to flip his seat in 2024 since he’s considered vulnerable in a district that is becoming less conservative. In November 2020, Schweikert signed a congressional letter demanding an audit of ballots in Maricopa County, and two months later was among the 147 congressional Republicans who refused to certify President Biden’s electoral victory. - Eli Crane | House (AZ–2)
Representative Eli Crane is running for his second term after defeating the Democratic incumbent in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and a newly redrawn district map that heavily favors Republicans. While running for office in 2021, he called for the state legislature to “decertify” the 2020 election and audit results in more counties, and urged the attorney general to “launch a criminal investigation to hold all involved accountable.” In May 2022, Crane’s congressional campaign used a Facebook post to thank Turning Point USA for “creating an opportunity for so many citizens of Arizona to be educated about the massive amounts of fraud taking place in our elections” and promote the widely discredited film 2000 Mules, a hoax made to help the Right spread more lies about the 2020 presidential election. - Jeff Zink | House (AZ–3)
A former salesman, minister, and insurrectionist, Jeff Zink is running a long-shot bid to unseat Representative Ruben Gallego (D–AZ–3), who defeated him in 2022. According to AZ Central, Zink and his son participated in the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Even though his son is fighting legal battles to avoid a possible 22-year sentence in federal prison for his role in the insurrection, Zink himself claims that he didn’t enter the building that day. The candidate is now focusing his campaign on what he calls a “political prosecution and persecution scheme” coordinated by the Department of Justice and the Biden administration. He frequently tweets about election fraud conspiracies and expresses unwavering support for incarcerated J6ers. - Kelly Cooper | House (AZ–4)
An entrepreneur, former Marine and Trump loyalist, Kelly Cooper won the GOP primary in July with 32% of the vote and is now mounting his second congressional campaign against Representative Greg Stanton (D–AZ–4), who narrowly defeated him in 2022. Cooper initially touted “election integrity” as a top priority on his former campaign website, where he called the 2020 election a “disaster” that left “millions of Arizonans” wondering “if their vote really counted.” In a campaign video, he also noted that he wants “the prisoners of January 6th… to be released on day one” and that if elected, he will “make every effort to make sure that happens.” Trump endorsed him in 2022 but has not yet done so during this election cycle. - Andy Biggs | House (AZ–5)
Representative Andy Biggs is an outspoken election denier and Trump loyalist who has served in the House since 2017, won reelection in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement, and is expected to win again in 2024. In 2023 he introduced a bill that would have punished Manhattan’s district attorney for prosecuting Trump. He is also among the five sitting congressmen subpoenaed by the House Select Committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol. In July 2022, the speaker of the Arizona House testified that after the 2020 election Biggs pressed him to support decertifying the state’s electors. - Abe Hamadeh | House (AZ–8)
In 2022 Abe Hamadeh ran for attorney general in Arizona with Trump’s endorsement, while doubling down on election denialism and the Big Lie. “As AG I will prosecute the election fraud of 2020 and secure the 2024 election so when Donald Trump runs and wins again in 2024, everyone will know it’s legitimate,” he told The Arizona Republic. Hamadeh also spreads election misinformation online, as a sampling of tweets from 2022 (on January 13, April 6, and May 8) indicate. After narrowly losing the AG race, he fought hard to overturn the results. Hamadeh is now expected to win the House seat being vacated by retiring Representative Debbie Lesko (R) in this very red district in the western suburbs of Phoenix. - Paul Gosar| House (AZ–9)
Representative Paul Gosar has served in the House since 2011 and is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. He won reelection in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and is expected to win again in 2024 in his very red district. While campaigning with Trump in 2022, Gosar boasted of being “the most dangerous man in Congress” and told the crowd of MAGA supporters: “This is where it all began. This is where we questioned: Was there fraud? Absolutely. Was it enough to overturn the election? Absolutely.” Gosar actively spread election misinformation online, helped Ali Alexander organize the Stop the Steal rally, and described the riotous mob that attacked the Capitol as “peaceful protesters.”