GOP candidates for Congress continue to argue elections were stolen, government corrupt

Some Republican candidates running for Congress in Arizona's 8th district continue to argue that the 2020 and 2022 elections in Arizona were stolen from their party and made those complaints a central theme of a Wednesday forum.

Three candidates running in the crowded primary to replace Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., participated in a forum Wednesday night where they claimed without evidence that elections were stolen and the federal government has been "weaponized" against their party.

The crowd was so focused on election fraud that candidate Blake Masters felt compelled to defend his decision not to sue over his own election loss last year in a run for U.S. Senate.

The 8th Congressional District forum was hosted by conservative activist Merissa Hamilton, who lost a bid for Phoenix mayor in 2020 and now runs a political group called EZAZ.org. Jenna Rayne, an Arizona State University student and chair of the West Valley Young Republicans, moderated the forum with Hamilton.

Abe Hamadeh, who lost a bid for Arizona attorney general last year and continues to file lawsuits challenging that outcome, Masters, and state Sen. Anthony Kern participated. Jacob Chansley, often known as the QAnon Shaman for his protest persona, attended the event but was not allowed to speak because he plans to run as a Libertarian and the event was for Republican candidates only, according to the hosts.

Other Republican candidates in the race who did not participate Wednesday include Arizona House speaker Ben Toma, who Lesko has endorsed, former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned from the seat amid controversy in 2017, and at least five other men.

Hamadeh was the first candidate who spoke Wednesday, opening his remarks with familiar complaints that the 2022 election was stolen from him.

"We all know what happened this time last year in the election," he said, referencing his loss by 280 votes, which he has continued to unsuccessfully challenge in court. In August the Arizona Supreme Court ordered Hamadeh to cover some of the legal expenses of his opponents because he had misrepresented information to the court.

On Wednesday he referenced a new suit he filed this month.

"Over the past year I’ve discovered who the crooks are. Who the phonies are. Our government has been captured at many levels," he said.

No evidence has ever been provided that the Arizona 2020 or 2022 elections were compromised by widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome.

Hamilton asked the candidates why conservatives should keep voting if elections are compromised.

Hamadeh said it was important for people to vote.

“They want you to be black pilled and just throw your hands up in the air," he said. "I don’t have confidence our elections are managed well. However there is, it is not totally crooked. I say that because they allowed me to win my primary."

Masters had a more succinct answer to that question: "Why vote? If you don’t, you definitely lose."

Kern also said he doesn't trust elections. Kern helped count ballots during a partisan, amateur election "audit" that Senate Republicans ordered in 2021, even though his name was on the ballot that year. He was removed because of "optics" after a reporter identified him at a counting table.

"I believe the election was stolen in 2020. And I believe that the 2022 election there was enough shenanigans," he said. "Elections have been stolen for 30 years. They have been stolen for a long time."

He said in 2000 he banged his head on his car steering wheel while listening to news of an Ohio race where more votes than voters were recorded.

"We've all heard of dead people voting," he said.

'Weaponization' of government discussed

Kern and the other candidates also talked about the "weaponization" of the federal government, and Kern said he's been investigated for his trip to Washington, D.C., at the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol where he was photographed among the rioters.

He's also one of 11 people who claimed incorrectly in paperwork sent to then-Vice President Mike Pence that they were legitimate Trump electors. Former President Donald Trump lost the election in Arizona by 10,457 votes.

Kern said at the forum that he got a text from an FBI agent recently as he was pursuing a new job.

He said he thought "Oh my god, maybe I could be arrested," but that he decided not to be fearful.

"I had the FBI at my door, knocking at my door. I’ve had the DOJ at my door. I’ve had the January 6 clown show send me an email," he said, adding that he put up "no trespassing" signs at his home to deal with the law-enforcement inquiries.

"I stood my ground because we are still in America," he said, adding that he hopes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes brings charges against him for serving as a fake elector.

"I’m like bring it," Kern said. "I’m ready. I’ll sell T-shirts with my mug shot. And I'll sell coffee cups with my mug shot and raise funds for this congressional race."

Kern also shared a story of meeting Chansley years ago in the sauna of an L.A. Fitness on Bell Road, and said he talked about Christianity with him at that meeting.

Masters talked about decision to run

Masters said that since losing his Senate race, he has gotten involved with the conservative-leaning marketplace PublicSquare, is expecting his fourth child to be born in a month, and now is planning to move into the 8th district for his House run.

"We ran a poll. I was very pleased to see I was double digits ahead of everyone else in the poll," he said of his decision to run. "I like and respect a lot of the guys I’m running against. You will never hear me criticize another American fighter."

Masters said that Democrats "installed Biden" in the 2020 election, but offered slightly more toned down comments on election fraud than the other two men.

"Maybe not third-world but, man, they are second-world," he said of elections, adding that 2020's vote was "super messed up" and "not on the up and up."

Regarding 2022, he said "I don’t know what happened for sure. Maybe it’s just gross negligence."

He said he took a "hard look" at the election after his loss and could not find evidence of fraud, and that he didn't sue over his loss to incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly because he thought it would make the lawsuits filed by Republicans Kari Lake, who lost the governor's race, and Hamadeh, look worse, considering Masters lost by a much wider margin.

But he still had complaints about voting.

"I don’t like the 27 days of early voting any more than you do and I wish we had Gov. Kari Lake to do something about it," he said.

Moderators asked about affordability

The candidates also answered questions about inflation and housing affordability.

Hamadeh set up his answer by saying he was "a free-market guy" but that corporations were to blame.

"You have a lot of these businesses consume so much of the housing market. I think it is a big problem. They control the rates for apartments. ... The American dream has in many ways been killed," Hamadeh said.

He said he saw a news report recently of people who were migrants to the U.S. going home because that American dream is dead.

"I’m glad they are leaving, but it’s sad," Hamadeh said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Abe Hamadeh, Anthony Kern and Blake Masters still claim election fraud