Voters wait in line outside a polling place in Tempe during the presidential preference election, when widespread problems resulted in hours-long waits for many in Maricopa County. Photo by Grecia Drabos || Cronkite News
Sasha Hupka
Arizona Republic
Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a lifelong Republican, had seconds to decide when Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for then-President Donald Trump, called on Nov. 22, 2020, and asked Bowers to help ensure President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona would not be made official by state lawmakers.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, I voted for you. I’ve been onstage with you. I supported you,’” Bowers said. “‘But I will not do anything illegal for you.’” His recounting of his role in pushing back on the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election was met with applause from a packed house at a Tempe brewery on Tuesday night. The live event, part of a series called Arizona Talks that aims to gather community members to civilly discuss public policy issues, also featured Democratic Arizona Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez of Phoenix, Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Arizona Board of Regents chairman and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal, and Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat who is currently running for U.S. Congress.
