Far-right election denier Alex Kolodin advances in bid to oversee Arizona elections

Election denier Alex Kolodin won Arizona’s Republican primary for secretary of state Tuesday, advancing in the race to control election administration in one of the country’s most consequential presidential battlegrounds.

Kolodin, a state representative and attorney, defeated former Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda. He will face incumbent Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) in November.

The secretary of state is Arizona’s chief elections officer. The office certifies voting equipment and statewide election results, issues rules governing election administration and plays a central role in the presidential certification process.

Kolodin has spent years using the courts and state Legislature to attack Arizona elections.

He helped file the infamous “Kraken” lawsuit after the 2020 election, which sought to overturn former President Joe Biden’s victory using baseless allegations of hacked voting machines, foreign interference and widespread illegal voting. A federal judge dismissed the case, finding that its extraordinary claims lacked factual support. 

The State Bar of Arizona later placed Kolodin on probation over his involvement in multiple lawsuits challenging the 2020 results. He was required to take ethics courses and pay the costs of the disciplinary investigation.

“When people say was it stolen? I say it was stolen fair and square,” Kolodin said during a May candidate forum.

As a legislator, Kolodin sponsored the Arizona Secure Elections Act, a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict when voters may return early ballots and require many voters to submit new requests to receive mail ballots. Nearly three-quarters of Arizona voters are enrolled in the state’s permanent early voting program.

Kolodin has openly acknowledged the national power he is seeking.

“The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office is probably the most important elections official in the country,” Kolodin said. “The road to the White House runs directly through the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.”

His victory sets up a pivotal November contest over whether Arizona’s elections remain under an official who has defended voters and resisted Trump’s demands for sensitive voter data — or are handed to an election denier who tried to overturn legitimate results and wants to restrict voting.