Election Deniers’ Grip on the Republican Party Strengthens in Arizona

['Khaya Himmelman', 'Is A Reporter At Tpm', 'Based In New York. She Previously Covered Politics', 'Misinformation For The Messenger', 'Grid', 'The Dispatch.', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline'] TPM – Talking Points Memo 2026-08-12 06:58:26

Three prominent 2020 election deniers won GOP primary elections in Arizona for secretary of state, governor and attorney general. Arizona GOP state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who is a known election denier, won the Republican primary for secretary of state this week. Kolodin will face off against Democratic incumbent Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in November. Staunch MAGA ally Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) won the GOP nomination for Arizona governor this week too, and will now face off against Democratic incumbent Gov. Petersen handed over documents to the FBI related to a 2021 scam of an election audit in Maricopa County that found no traces of election fraud.