Election-denier Mark Finchem wins Arizona GOP secretary of state primary, NBC News projects

Mark Finchem, a prominent 2020 election denier and an Arizona state legislator, has won the Republican secretary of state primary, NBC News projects. With 99% percent of the expected vote in, Finchem, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, had 40% of the vote. State Rep. Shawnna Bolick, another 2020 election denier, had 19% of the vote, while businessman Beau Lane got 25%. With his win, Finchem, who continues to falsely claim that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election in the state, gets one step closer to being the top elections official in Arizona, a crucial swing state where efforts by Trump allies to overturn the last presidential election have persisted in the years since the race.

If elected, Finchem would, as the official who oversees the state office administering the 2024 presidential election, have the power to possibly affect the outcome of the race. Experts say that scenario could contribute to an even more robust effort to overturn a presidential election. Trump is weighing another bid in 2024. Finchem advances to the general election against the winner of a Democratic race that is still undecided between Adrian Fontes, the former Maricopa County recorder, and state Rep. Reginald Bolding. Finchem, a member of the Arizona Legislature, is among the most outspoken state lawmakers insisting that Trump won the 2020 election. Trump endorsed Finchem last year, saying in a statement that “Mark was willing to say what few others had the courage to say” about the 2020 race. At a January rally in Florence, Arizona, Finchem, standing alongside the former president, said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we know it and they know it — Donald Trump won.” Trump held another rally with Finchem, as well as other Arizona Republican candidates, in July, where Finchem and others repeated similarly false claims.