For Immediate Release
Friday, February 16th 2024
Contact: Victoria Opperman, communications@azdem.org

Joint Statement from Chairwoman Bejarano and Sen. Priya Sundareshan Regarding Arizona Republicans Endorsing Trump 

ARIZONA– Today, Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano and the ADLCC Co-Chair Sen. Priya Sundareshan responded to the slate of MAGA-Republican Arizona legislators and Congressional representatives that have endorsed former President Donald Trump:

“Arizonans want elected officials that share their values and will fight for the issues impacting their day-to-day lives— two things this slate of extreme Republicans does not do,” said Yolanda Bejarano, Chairwoman of the Arizona Democratic Party. “These Republicans are extremists that have spread election denial conspiracy theories, want to strip away reproductive rights, want to make it harder to vote, and will only deepen the partisan divides Arizonans are tired of seeing. Arizonans will reject these extremists in November along with President Trump.”

“Republican legislators are implementing former President Donald Trump’s playbook in Arizona in the state legislature – introducing legislation to hand Arizona’s electors over to Trump,” said ADLCC Co-Chair Sen. Priya Sundareshan. “This blatant attack on our democracy, combined with efforts to suppress the vote including bans on vote centers, is nothing short of extreme. Arizona voters believe in a safe and secure election, and they deserve elected officials who will uphold our democracy and safeguard our voting freedoms.”

Who are the candidates that have endorsed Trump? 

• Congressman Paul Gosar (CD-09): just last month, Rep. Gosar voiced support for investigating in the January 6th Committee. This move comes after Rep. Gosar was named in January 6th Committee Congressional Hearings with questions about his role in meetings with Senior White House leaders about rejecting electoral college votes on January 6th and after taking credit for starting the January 6th insurrection “I was the one who started the revolution.”

• Congressman Andy Biggs (CD-05): just last month Rep. Biggs introduced and wrote the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act which forces healthcare providers to display ultrasound images to those seeking an abortion.

• Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (CD-08): is an abortion extremist. Alongside Rep.Biggs and Rep. Gosar- Rep. Lesko filled a brief in support of the U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to restrict access to mifepristone.

• Candidate for Congress Abe Hamadeh (CD-08): during his unsuccessful campaign for Attorney General, Hamadeh pledged to uphold Arizona’s draconian territorial law banning all abortion if elected. He tweeted that “abortion is not a Constitutional right” and that it is a “death sentence.”

• Candidate for Senate Kari Lake: denies the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, continues to relitigate her failed 2022 gubernatorial bid, would ban abortion for Arizonans, and associates with extremists, grifters, and insurrectionists.

• State Senate President Warren Petersen: was subpoenaed to testify in special counsel probe of Trump and wrote an amicus brief in support of reinstating the 1865 territorial ban.

• State Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr: introduced legislation to ban all abortion in Arizona, without exeptions for rape or incest.

• State Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope: co-sponsored a bill to ban abortions after 15 Weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest that Governor Ducey then signed into law.

• State Senator David Gowan: ​​was investigated by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office after he collected more than $12,000 in personal travel reimbursements while traveling in a state car to multiple campaign events during his run for the state senate.

• State Senator Wendy Rogers: who has received national attention for promoting election conspiracies and puppeting white supremacist talking points.

• State Senator David Farnsworth: is a QAnon conspiracy theorist.

• State Senator Anthony Kern: used campaign funds to attend the insurrection and still denies that Joe Biden won the election.

• State Sen. Janae Shamp: proudly displayed a flag linked to the Christian Nationalist movement on the Arizona Senate floor.

• State Sen. Justine Wadsack: was nearly recalled for her extremist stances, including support for QAnon and denial of election results.

• State Senator Jake Hoffman: owned Rally Forge LLC, infamously exposed as a social media “troll farm,” and fake elector.

• State Senator Frank Carroll: signed on to House Bill 2650 that would classify abortion as 1st-degree premeditated murder, a charge that warrants the death penalty under existing Arizona law.

• State House Speaker Ben Toma: sent a letter to Governor Hobbs calling on her to immediately rescind her Executive Order banning conversion therapy and is fighting in court to block Governor Hobbs’s Executive order that pays for gender-affirming surgery for state employees.

• State House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci: championed House Bill 2415 that would have removed individuals from the active early voting list if they fail to vote in a full election cycle consisting of one primary and one general election.

• State House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez: voted yes on SB1164, allowing Arizona to pass a restrictive 15-week abortion ban.

• Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham: agreed with a tweet calling Black History Month ridiculous.

• State Representative Joseph Chaplik: believes homeless people are a risk to children and wants to make panhandling illegal.

• State Representative Alex Kolodin: failed to answer clearly if Joe Biden won the 2020 election and backed legislation to ban electronic ballot tabulators in favor of hand counts.

• State Representative Austin Smith: Senior Director of TPUSA, Rep. Austin Smith joined extreme Republicans in the legislature in pushing to end the Arizona Commerce Authority, which is credited with rebuilding Arizona’s economy after the Great Recession.

• State Representative Cory McGarr: failed to answer clearly if Joe Biden won the 2020 election and backed legislation to ban electronic ballot tabulators in favor of hand counts.

• State Representative David Marshall: voted yes on the restrictive Born Alive bill in 2023, an anti-abortion measure passed in the Arizona legislature.

• State Senator Sonny Borelli: unsuccessfully sued to overturn Katie Hobbs’ victory in the 2022 Election.

• State Representative Rachel Jones: falsely claimed that 42% of ballots from the 2022 Election were not counted and was the prime sponsor of legislation to award Trump all of Arizona’s 2024 electors.

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