Trump endorses Rusty Bowers challenger in Arizona

Former President Trump on Wednesday endorsed an opponent of Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) for a state Senate seat after Bowers testified before the House Jan. 6 select committee that Trump’s claims of voter fraud were false.

Trump said in a release from his Save America PAC that he is backing David Farnsworth, a former state senator, for Arizona’s 10th legislative district.

Bowers testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection last week alongside Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and his deputy Gabe Sterling. Their testimony was part of the committee’s public hearing focusing on Trump’s efforts to convince state officials to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

In his testimony, Bowers rejected Trump’s claims that the election was rigged and that Trump won the state of Arizona. He said Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani had called him to urge him to overturn Biden’s victory in the state. 

Trump in his endorsement said Farnsworth fought “tirelessly” against election fraud in 2020 and the “open and poisonous Southern Border” and in favor of Second Amendment rights and tax cuts. He said Bowers fought against “election integrity harder than any Democrat.” 

Bowers prevented a piece of legislation from advancing in the Arizona House in February that would have allowed the state legislature to reject primary or general election results. 

“David Farnsworth will get rid of the stench of Rusty Bowers and his crew of RINOs who are systematically destroying everything that Arizona stands for,” Trump said, using a term that stands for “Republican in name only.” 

He said Bowers is a “puppet” of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), who denied Trump’s calls for him to refuse to certify the state’s election results. 

Bowers was one of five recipients of the 2022 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his “courage to protect and defend democracy.” 

Trump has sharply criticized several other witnesses who have spoken during the committee’s public hearings, including Raffensperger and former Georgia elections worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who testified before the committee on the same day as Bowers.