With Andy Biggs, “Arizona Republicans Once Again Nominate 2020 Election Deniers”

With Andy Biggs, “Arizona Republicans Once Again Nominate 2020 Election Deniers”

While Andy Biggs is already facing heat for his cost-hiking agenda – including pushing a new sales tax that would make everyday items 23% more expensive – his record as an election denier is raising the stakes of a “race [that] is expected to be among the most fiercely contested in the country.”

Biggs “helped try and overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021,” refused to comply with a subpoena, and even asked Trump for a pardon for his attacks on democracy. Even Republicans have warned that Andy Biggs – who “established a reputation as a hardline conservative” –  is too extreme for Arizona, and he risks “turning off independents.” In fact, USA Today reported over the weekend that “Asked three times about the 2020 election outcome, the five-term congressman told USA TODAY he wouldn’t be pitted against Trump, who remains wedded to the unsubstantiated allegations.”

In an interview with MS NOW last night, Gov. Katie Hobbs warned: “If Andy Biggs is governor, Arizona is the first swing state with an election denier in charge.” 

Read more about Biggs’ dangerous attacks on democracy below:

POLITICO: ‘It’s a stone around your neck’: Arizona Republicans once again nominate 2020 election deniers

• To make it out of a Republican primary in Arizona, there’s one key litmus test: believing the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
• Election deniers who played prominent roles in efforts to overturn the 2020 results triumphed in statewide Republican primaries Tuesday: Rep. Andy Biggs for governor, state Rep. Alexander Kolodin for secretary of state, and state Senate President Warren Petersen for attorney general.

• Biggs, a staunch Trump ally who helped try and overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021, was later subpoenaed in an Arizona probe.

USA Today: Arizona Republicans nominate MAGA stalwarts: 5 primary takeaways

• Biggs’ role as a major player in the fake elector scheme in 2020 will likely be re-litigated during this election, which is setting up to be a major referendum on the president, whose unpopular initiatives − such as launching a war with Iran that has driven up gas prices − Biggs has supported.

AP: Andy Biggs wins Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor

• Biggs built a national profile as chair of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s attempt to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

CNN: Trump-backed Andy Biggs wins GOP nomination for governor and other Arizona primary takeaways

• First elected to Congress in 2016, Biggs established a reputation as a hardline conservative. He was a member of the House Freedom Caucus, serving a term as chair, and he voted against the certification of the 2020 election, embracing Trump’s false claims and efforts to overturn the outcome.

Washington Post: Arizona primary takeaways: Trump’s picks prevail and a House Democrat survives

• As chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022, Biggs has made a name as a prominent Trump supporter and MAGA activist who questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

• Biggs was among Republicans in the House who voted against certifying the 2020 election, which Trump lost.

The Guardian: Trump ally wins Republican primary for Arizona governor, setting up high-stakes midterm race

• The race is expected to be among the most fiercely contested in the country, with control of the governor’s office carrying outsized national significance in a state that became “ground zero” for election denialism after Trump’s narrow loss there in 2020.

New York Times: Trump Pick Wins G.O.P. Nomination to Challenge Arizona Governor 

• Mr. Biggs largely avoided discussing his central role in Mr. Trump’s drive to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Citing false claims of fraud, Mr. Biggs voted against certifying former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s win in Arizona and other states.

The Hill: Trump-backed Biggs to take on Hobbs in key gubernatorial race in Arizona 

• “With an environment that’s favoring Democrats and a potentially polarizing and deeply conservative nominee in Rep. Andy Biggs, a 2020 election denier, this is a contest Republicans sound less optimistic about,” analysts said.

• Biggs has been a major Trump backer since he entered the House in 2017. He challenged Trump’s 2020 loss in the state even as he won reelection on the same ballot and is a co-sponsor of the SAVE America Act, a top priority for the president as he works to reshape U.S. elections.

MS NOW: Rep. Andy Biggs wins Arizona GOP gubernatorial primary to face Katie Hobbs in November

• Biggs also became a prominent supporter of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. He objected to the certification electoral votes following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of former President Joe Biden’s victory despite courts, state election officials and Trump’s own administration finding no evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the election outcome.

NPR: Trump-backed candidates, 2020 election deniers, win Arizona primaries 

• U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs is the Republican nominee for governor. In 2020, he refused to certify the election results over Trump’s unverified claims that the election was stolen by former President Joe Biden.

CBS: Trump ally Andy Biggs wins GOP nomination for Arizona governor, AP projects 

• Biggs, who has represented Arizona’s 5th District for five terms, is one of the top backers of President Trump’s unproven election fraud claims. Biggs was subpoenaed by the now-defunct Jan. 6 select committee for his alleged involvement in Mr. Trump’s scheme, and his name appeared frequently in the final report.

NBC: Trump-backed Rep. Andy Biggs wins GOP primary for Arizona governor

• Biggs had long questioned the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. In his recent USA Today interview, he dodged questions about that outcome, saying, “I’m not going to be critical against Republicans, and we have a lot of people with a lot of diverse viewpoints.” He added that Republicans will win “by looking forward and having a vision for the state.”

###