Arizonans elected Democrats in four of the top six statewide races this year. Mark Kelly’s win helped Dems hold onto the US Senate; Katie Hobbs’ victory keeps Kari Lake from turning the Governor’s Office into an autocratic hatefest; and Mark Finchem, the election-denying Oath Keeper trounced by Adrian Fontes, won’t be allowed anywhere near the Secretary of State’s Office, where he could do serious damage to the electoral process. We still await the results of the AG’s race, which will go to a recount, but Democrat Kris Mayes holds a slight lead and “feels confident.”
The two seats Democrats did not win are Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction. More about the Treasurer below.
That’s all good, except Arizona’s Congressional delegation went from 5-4 Dem to 6-3 GOP, and most of those Republicans are election-denying, dangerous screwballs like Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs. The Legislature also remains in Republican control, which is why it’s so important to have Katie Hobbs in the executive suite, where she can veto the nutter bills sure to reach her desk.
One victorious Republican Legislator was Liz Harris, another election denier who won her House seat in District 13, which is the Phoenix suburbs of Chandler and Gilbert—among the fastest growing cities in the nation. She’s claimed since 2020 that the election was stolen from trump, essentially accusing Maricopa County officials of election shenanigans without evidence. (Harris is a fountain of controversies, but let’s stick with election denial here.)
So now, with Arizona Democrats performing so well statewide in the midterms—trump’s entire slate apparently going down—Rep. Harris just knows there was election fraud. And what’s her proof?
“There are clear signs of foul play from machine malfunctions, chain of custody issues and just blatant mathematical impossibilities. How can a Republican State Treasurer receive more votes than a Republican Gubernatorial or Senate candidate?”
Yes, there were printer malfunctions but they were few, nobody was prevented from voting because of them, and the problem affected all voters, not only Republicans. She’s like the football player who says his team would’ve won if it hadn’t been snowing. Hey! Both teams played in the snow! Her second statement is a doozie: How could the Republican Treasurer receive more votes than the candidates for Governor or Senator?
Here’s how:
First, the Republican candidate for Treasurer, Kimberly Yee, has a political history here. She is a former State Representative and Senator who’s held the job of Treasurer for three years, and by all accounts she is fair and professional. Neither Kari Lake nor Blake Masters have held elected office, and hardly anyone knew Masters, the Peter Thiel puppet whose creepy commercials probably didn’t persuade many Independents (or even Republicans).
More importantly, Lake and Masters sought and celebrated trump’s endorsement and they repeated his stolen election nonsense in their ads and stump speeches. Kimberly Yee did not ask for trump’s endorsement, did not receive it as far as I know, and she did not base her campaign on election fraud, which was the central message from Lake, Masters, and Finchem (trump even told Masters that’s all he should talk about). Earlier, Yee did cozy up to trump during the gubernatorial primary, which she lost but probably saw into the guts of trump’s sick world. Not stepping back into his orbit probably won her the race for Treasurer.
Maybe there’s a message there for Republicans. Whether they’ll get it is anyone’s guess. I’m voting no.
But here’s the best part. Rep. Harris, convinced that even her victory was fraudulent, has pledged to do nothing until Arizona “hold[s] a new election immediately.”
Liz Harris, who won her election in Legislative District 13, issued a statement on Instagram and her campaign website pledging that she would not vote on any bill because she believes Republicans had been robbed in statewide races...
Go for it, Liz! Because at the Arizona Legislature many of the bills she will be asked to consider will be introduced by her far-right colleagues: more abortion restrictions, voter suppression schemes, assaults on LGBTQ and minority populations, textbook bans, environmental deregulation, corporate tax breaks, and probably something about Hunter Biden. Neither should she vote on legislation that actually helps people. Stick to principle!
Rep. Harris, please encourage other Republicans to follow your genius plan of inaction until the state holds a new election. That may happen soon, don’t cave! Stick it to the Libs! Withhold your votes, hold your breath, pout and stomp, throw a hissy fit, do whatever—but by all means hold future Republican bills hostage.