Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who testified before the House Jan. 6 select committee about attempts made by former President Donald Trump and his allies to persuade him to decertify the state's electoral votes, was defeated on Tuesday by Republican challenger David Farnsworth for an open state Senate seat.
Term limits locked Bowers out of another state House run. Instead, he chose to battle it out for the 10th District Senate seat, which had him campaigning against Farnsworth, a former colleague and onetime state senator.
Bowers turned into a media hero after providing damning testimony about the lengths to which Trump and those working on his behalf, including Rudy Giuliani, went to decertify Arizona's 2020 presidential election results. Though Bowers was heralded in Washington, D.C., his reputation back home took a beating.
PRO-TRUMP ARIZONA REPUBLICANS TARGET RUSTY BOWERS AFTER JAN. 6 TESTIMONY
Not only did he become a verbal punching bag for Trump, but he also had to deal with an angry Arizona GOP that largely saw Bowers as a sellout who turned his back on his party.
Powerful Republican leaders and lawmakers, as well as Arizona's GOP chairwoman, all endorsed Farnsworth, a man who claimed the devil stole the 2020 election from Trump, almost immediately after Bowers's Capitol Hill testimony.
Three days before Trump held a rally in Prescott Valley, one of the most conservative areas in the state, the Arizona GOP Executive Committee censured Bowers.
"Bowers has lost the confidence of a majority of Republican Party leaders and his colleagues in the legislature in the state of Arizona," the resolution read. "The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Arizona hereby formally censures Representative Rusty Bowers and shall immediately cease any and all recognition and support of him as a member of the Republican Party."
State GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward declared that Bowers, a lifelong conservative, was "no longer a Republican in good standing" and urged members of her party to "expel him from office."
She also dove to childish lows on social media, calling the 69-year-old "Rusty Bowels," and has since only grown louder in her discontent.
"Trump and Arizona Republicans are trying to do everything they can to unseat the current speaker of the House Rusty Bowers," Kristy Dohnel, director of communication for the Arizona Republican Party, told the Washington Examiner in mid-July.
ARIZONA GOP CENSURES HOUSE SPEAKER RUSTY BOWERS
Bowers and Farnsworth, who came out of retirement to run against his former colleague, embrace similar conservative values and have similar backgrounds.
They both came up together politically. They also went to the same high school, sang in the same choir, shared the same friend circle, and at one point attended the same congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
They also both voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. The difference is that Bowers knows Trump lost. Farnsworth does not.
The 71-year-old spoke to the former president a few days after Bowers testified in Washington. During the roughly seven-minute conversation, Trump told Farnsworth to expect an endorsement. Sure enough, Trump released a statement that called Bowers "far worse than the Democrats" and praised Farnsworth for fighting "tirelessly on the 2020 Presidential Election Scandal."
"This is a very important race because it will determine the future of Arizona, which is now on the precipice of disaster, with illegal aliens pouring in at every level and voters, through massive voter fraud and irregularities, losing their voice" Trump said in a statement plastered on Farnsworth's campaign website. "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. He is a puppet of Governor Doug Ducey, a man who was totally afraid to act on so many important issues."
Though there wasn't much polling done ahead of the race, it was believed that Trump's endorsement gave Farnsworth a boost.
On his website, Farnsworth, who was born in Mexico but grew up in Arizona, claims he is 100% anti-abortion, dedicated to preserving Second Amendment rights, and pro-school choice and election integrity.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Arizona Senate is made up of 30 legislators, one from each of the state's 30 legislative districts. The 10th District is located entirely in Pima County.
Washington Examiner Videos
Tags: Midterms 2022, Arizona, Arizona Senate, Donald Trump, Republicans
Original Author: Barnini Chakraborty
Original Location: Trump critic Rusty Bowers loses GOP primary for open Arizona state Senate seat