Adrian Fontes wins highly contested secretary of state in Arizona - The Guardian US

The triumph of Adrian Fontes, the Democratic campaigner for caput of authorities successful Arizona, whitethorn travel to beryllium seen arsenic 1 of the astir important results of the 2022 elections successful presumption of the aboriginal of American democracy.

Fontes, a erstwhile Marine, managed to fend disconnected 1 of the astir contentious Republican predetermination deniers successful a bitterly fought and exceedingly adjacent race. His opponent, Mark Finchem, is simply a authorities lawmaker who has been a subordinate of the far-right Oath Keepers militia and was contiguous astatine the US Capitol connected the time of the 6 January 2021 insurrection.

Finchem has made repeated efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s triumph successful Arizona successful the 2020 election, successful favour of his idol Donald Trump.

By frustrating Finchem’s efforts to unafraid the caput of authorities position, Fontes has prevented some section and national predetermination medication successful Arizona falling into the hands of an avid hostile of antiauthoritarian norms. Had Finchem travel retired connected top, arsenic immoderate polls suggested helium mightiness successful the last agelong of the campaign, helium would person been placed to radically change Arizona’s handling of elections and could adjacent person subverted the result of the 2024 statesmanlike battle.

In an interrogation with the Guardian soon earlier predetermination day, Fontes said that a Finchem triumph would person threatened “the destiny of the republic, and the escaped satellite excessively if you judge that America is inactive its leader”.

As Arizona’s caput of state-elect, Fontes volition present go 2nd successful enactment of succession to the governor. He volition beryllium successful a beardown presumption to power however elections are conducted successful the state, including the statesmanlike contention successful 2 years’ clip successful which Trump has indicated helium is minded to basal again.

In his bid to voters, Fontes promised that were helium to triumph helium would sphere mail-in voting, a fashionable mode of casting ballots successful Arizona that Finchem had threatened to restrict claiming without grounds that it was riddled with fraud.

Fontes is nary alien to electoral disputes. In 2020 helium was the recorder of Maricopa, Arizona’s astir populous county, which enactment him astatine the centre of the tempest implicit the predetermination number determination successful which Republicans demanded a much-derided “audit” of the count.