ELECTION DENIER DENIED: Trump-endorsed Mark Finchem loses Arizona secretary of state bid

Mark Finchem, a strong advocate of the Big Lie, who, as a state senator, introduced several bills in Arizona to decertify the 2020 election — and one that would have empowered the legislature there to override election results — has gone down to defeat in the race to become the Secretary of State in Arizona.

He joins a growing list of Donald Trump’s tiny-handed picks of election deniers that have lost their bids, including:

• Don Bolduc, who was easily defeated by Maggie Hassan for senator of New Hampshire;
• Blake Masters, bested by Mark Kelly in Arizona;
• Doug Mastriano, who was crushed by Josh Shapiro for governor of Pennsylvania; and
• Tudor Dixon, beaten out for governor of Michigan by Gretchen Whitmer.

Other prominent election-denying Trumpers, including Kari Lake and Lauren Boebert, are currently in the midst of tight races with votes still being counted.

Certainly, a fair amount of anti-democratic election questioners and deniers have won, too – some supported by Trump specifically, others just toeing the Republican line.

These include Ron DeSantis (governor) and Ashley Moody (attorney general) in Florida and J.D. Vance of Ohio, who practically had his lips surgically attached to Trump’s ass and has been rewarded for it with a Senate seat.

But Finchem is his own particular brand of crazy.

When asked by journalist Katty Kay if a Democrat running for president could possibly win Arizona in 2024, he hit a button on his desk that cried out “No! No! No!” – an interaction that John Oliver brilliantly mocked (beginning around the 20-minute mark below).

Finchem also has ties to the Oath Keepers and was present at the January 6 attack. He was subpoenaed by the January 6 Committee and forced to answer questions about his role.

Once again, THANK YOU Arizona for thwarting the GOP’s plan to destroy our elections forever by installing an election-denying terrorist as our Secretary of State. Mark Finchem belongs in a prison cell for his participation in January 6, not in any kind of elected office. https://t.co/0TlJIncLHW

— 😱 Scary Larry 😱 🇺🇦✊🏻🇺🇸🗽 (@aintscarylarry) November 12, 2022

Unsurprisingly, Finchem is still denying things and is liking to continue doing so.

It is completely ridiculous that the #FakeNews is calling the elections in Arizona when there are 390k (many election day) ballots outstanding. RIDICULOUS! #AZSOS

— Mark Finchem #JustFollowTheLaw VoteFinchem.com (@RealMarkFinchem) November 12, 2022

Mark, you lost.

Now, you don’t have to sit at home watching Westerns and doing cosplay – I’m sure there’s a rodeo somewhere that might be able to use your services.

But one thing you don’t get to play-act is secretary of state of Arizona since the voters there – the people you don’t trust – gave you a very solid no.

Follow Ross on Twitter @RossRosenfeld

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article mistakenly listed in the title Nevada as the state where Finchem was running for Secretary of State. It has been corrected to reflect that it was actually Arizona. We apologize for the mistake.

Ross Rosenfeld

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