Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem has won the Republican nomination for Arizona secretary of state in the Aug. 2 primary election.
Finchem defeated his closest rival Beau Lane with 38 percent of the vote.
Lane received 26 percent, Arizona state Rep. Shawnna Bolick, 20 percent, and Arizona state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, 16 percent.
Finchem, an Arizona House of Representatives member serving District 11 since January 2015, received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as an “America First” candidate in the Arizona primary.
He has made election integrity a cornerstone of his campaign following the disputed 2020 election and forensic audit in Maricopa County.
“At the end of the day, I stand for the rule of law, that nobody has their thumb on the scale of election integrity and election justice,” Finchem told The Epoch Times.
“I want to make sure every candidate, whether they’re Democrat, Republican, Libertarian—I don’t care what party they are—they have a right to be on the ballot if they qualify, and they have a right to be treated fairly under the law.”
Finchem will face former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, in the general election on Nov. 8.
Fontes defeated Reginald Bolding 53–47 percent, to win his party’s nomination.
“We’ve got three months of a grueling campaign,” Finchem said.
On the Democratic side, current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs trounced her opponents Marco Lopez and Aaron Lieberman with 73 percent of the vote to win the party’s nomination for governor.
In a five-way Republican race for Arizona attorney general, Trump-endorsed America First candidate Abe Hamadeh currently leads with 29 percent of the vote, ahead of his closest rival, Rodney Glassman, with 24 percent.
Andrew Gould trails at 18 percent, Dawn Grove at 14 percent, and Lacy Cooper at 9 percent.
In a five-way race for the Republican nomination for U.S. House District 2, Eli Crane enjoys a comfortable lead with 33 percent against his closest opponent, Arizona state Rep. Walter Blackman.
By Allan Stein
