Rep. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, is sworn in during the opening of the Arizona Legislature at the state Capitol Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Phoenix. /Ross D. Frankllin / Associated Press
By Andrew Oxford | Arizona Republic
State Rep. Shawnna Bolick announced Monday that she would seek the Republican nomination for secretary of state, entering an increasingly crowded race to become Arizona’s top election official.
After a year that saw high turnout, a prominent role for Arizona on the national political stage and the defeat of a president who disputed his loss to the bitter end, the race to succeed Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is shaping up to be a high-stakes and visceral battle over the future of the state’s elections.
Hobbs is running for governor in 2022.
Bolick, a Phoenix Republican, drew attention this year when she sponsored a bill that would allow the Legislature to revoke the certification of presidential election results at any time before an inauguration. She also signed on to a resolution late last year urging Congress to throw out the results of Arizona’s presidential election and instead award the state’s electoral college votes to Donald Trump.
In launching her campaign, Bolick said she would prioritize election security as well as “de-politicizing the office.”
“The Secretary of State is supposed to administer the papers and affairs of the state, work with businesses, and manage and certify elections. It requires hard work, focus, dedication, and a commitment to put responsibility ahead of personal or partisan preferences. But we have a failure of leadership that has led to rampant distrust in our elections,” Bolick said in a statement announcing her campaign. “The real responsibilities of the job have been abandoned in favor of partisan posturing.”
