Governor’s Office is on the 9th floor
By Stacey Barchenge | Arizona Republic
Candidates on both sides of the aisle hoping to become the state’s top executive say they want fair elections. The three leading Democrats agreed that Joe Biden won Arizona and have pushed back on claims the race was tainted by fraud. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has capitalized on the probe to build a national profile for her campaign for the Governor’s Office.
Yet on the Republican side, most candidates refused to say who they believed won — even nearly a year after the election. Most appeared to support the audit, which 77% of Republican voters backed in a May survey by right-leaning consulting firm HighGround in Phoenix.
Taking a stance in support of the audit could result in winning perhaps the most coveted endorsement — that of Trump himself.
The former president has legions of supporters who watched as he lashed out at Ducey, a fellow Republican, after the governor certified the election result.
Yet publicly acknowledging that Biden won could doom their chances at the nomination, even if that’s what a candidate believes.
The Arizona Republic reached out to leading candidates — judged based on name recognition, prior political experience, polling and other criteria — to ask if they supported the audit and who they believe won the 2020 election.
What do GOP hopefuls say?
