Alexander Kolodin, who tried to overturn Arizona election results, wins GOP nod for secretary of state - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News projected that Arizona Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin has won the GOP primary for secretary of state, setting up a November general election contest against Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes. Kolodin defeated Gina Swoboda, a former chair of the Arizona Republican Party, for the nomination.

According to NBC News, Kolodin has repeatedly challenged or questioned prior election outcomes and was involved in lawsuits seeking to overturn Arizona’s 2020 and 2022 election results. The report said those efforts drew criticism from judges and the state bar association. Kolodin is supported by Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit, and several Republican members of Congress from Arizona.

The race is significant because Arizona’s secretary of state serves as the state’s top elections official. The office helps oversee election administration, including certification of voting systems, ballot candidates and measures, and statewide results. NBC noted that the winner would hold that role in a battleground state during the 2028 presidential campaign.

In a PBS interview cited by NBC News, Kolodin argued that voters want more transparency and broader access for election observers. Fontes, a former Maricopa County elections official, has criticized efforts by President Donald Trump and allies to undermine confidence in Arizona election results. Fontes won the office in 2022 against a Trump-backed Republican and oversaw Arizona’s 2024 election, when Trump carried the state after narrowly losing it in 2020.