House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Monday, February 14, 2022, at the Rules Committee. Bowers on April 21, 2022, was named one of five recipients of the John F. Kennedy “Profile in Courage” award for his refusal to consider overturning the 2020 election results despite massive pressure from former President Donald Trump and his supporters. /Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer
BY Kevin Stone | KTAR
Bowers, who is term-limited in the House, is running for state Senate and is facing former lawmaker David Farnsworth in the Republican primary. Bowers didn’t shy away from the possibility that the Kennedy Award could hurt his chances with some Republican voters, because his opponents will use it to vilify him by associating him with Democrats.
“And there’s a sizable amount of people that think that way and already think I’m a RINO,” Bowers said. “And so, I’m grateful to have solid footing.”
The award, which was created in 1989 and is named after the late president’s book of the same name, will be given out at a ceremony on May 22 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Musuem in Boston.
This year’s theme is “Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad,” and the other honorees include Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who supported impeaching former President Trump.
