For Immediate Release
Wednesday, November 1st, 2023
Contact: Victoria Opperman, communications@azdem.org
Arizona Democrats Statement on Anthony Kern Entering AZ-08 Primary
ARIZONA- Two days ago, State Senator and Insurrectionist Anthony Kern announced that he was entering the messy MAGA primary for Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s Congressional seat (AZ-08). Moments after Kern’s announcement, reporting from the Arizona Mirror exposed a complaint from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office that Kern illegally used campaign funds to attend the insurrection. Chairwoman of the Arizona Democratic Party, Yolanda Bejarano and Debrah Howard, candidate for State Senate in LD27 released the following statements.
“Insurrectionist Anthony Kern is one of the most extreme members of the Arizona Republican Party, ” said Chairwoman of the Arizona Democratic Party Yolanda Bejarano. “From attending the January 6th insurrection with campaign funds to misrepresenting himself as a police officer, Kern is a threat to democracy and the rule of law. The primary for AZ-08 is shaping out to be a battle of who can be the most MAGA, and whoever wins the primary will have to answer for their extremism in the general.”
“The voters in Legislative District 27 know the real Anthony Kern, and they have had enough. Anthony Kern, Kevin Payne and Ben Toma have been consistently out of step with voters’ priorities in favor of extremism,” said Deborah Howard, candidate for the State Senate in LD27. “At the legislature, Kern and his colleagues disregarded the will of the voters countless times, and it’s time for a new majority.”
Who is Anthony Kern?
- Anthony Kern is an insurrectionist. Footage from January 6th shows Kern along the West Front area of the Capitol. Kern tweeted about January 6th, 17 times before the insurrection and the day he tweeted out “D-Day in DC to support Arizona’s and America’s duly elected President Donald Trump! #StoptheSteal,” around 10 a.m. with a picture of the stage where Trump would soon speak.
- Anthony Kern is a liar. Kern was fired from the El Mirage Police Department in 2014 after lying to his supervisor, and was placed on a list of Maricopa County law enforcement officials with a history of dishonesty or misconduct. In the legislature Kern then tried to pass a bill that would get him and others on the Brady list removed.
- Anthony Kern is a fake elector. Kern was one of the eleven Arizona Republicans who signed a document representing a nonexistent organization, “We are the electors who represent the legal voters of Arizona.”
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