Jake Hoffman (Arizona politician)

Jake Hoffman
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023 (2023-01-09)
Preceded byNancy Barto
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 12th district
In office
January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11) – January 9, 2023 (2023-01-09)
Serving with Travis Grantham
Preceded byWarren Petersen
Succeeded byStacey Travers
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceQueen Creek, Arizona
Alma materArizona State University
Northwest Christian University

Jake Hoffman is an Arizona state senator in Arizona's 15th district. He was previously a state representative in Arizona's 12th district. He was elected to the seat after incumbent Republican Warren Petersen decided to run for the Arizona Senate.[1] He and incumbent Travis Grantham won in a two–seat election in 2020, both defeating Democrat Kristin Clark by over 85,000 votes.[2]

Campaign Operative

Hoffman is a former spokesperson for Turning Point USA. In 2016, he was criticized for hiring teenagers to post misinformation on social media websites. He was banned from the website Twitter, known as "X" after its purchase by Elon Musk.[3]

Hoffman runs a digital marketing company, Rally Forge. The Guardian reported that Rally Forge also formed a fake left-wing front group, America Progress Now, which promoted Green Party candidates online in 2018. Rally Forge was banned from Facebook in 2020 when Hoffman was permanently suspended by Twitter.[4][5][6] As of October 2023, Hoffman has returned to Twitter under the leadership of Elon Musk.[7]

Elective political career

Then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Hoffman collaborated on issues that were rejected by mainstream legal analysts. In October 2022, Hoffman requested Brnovich to issue an opinion regarding whether migrant activity at the Arizona-Mexico border could be considered an "invasion." Brnovich then produced a controversial opinion supporting an “invasion” theory. Legal scholars dismissed the opinion as incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. [8]

In 2022, Hoffman sponsored HB2787, a bill to divide Maricopa County into three new counties.[9] Critics said his proposal was intended to punish election officials in Maricopa County for not overturning the 2020 election results based on Trump's false claims of fraud.[10] He reintroduced the legislation in 2024, citing Maricopa County's large area and population.[11]

In 2024, Hoffman sponsored SB 1279, a bill to prohibit Satanic displays on public property, while still allowing other religious symbols.[12] The bill was introduced in reaction to the Satanic Temple's displays.[12] Opponents who testified against the bill stated that it would violate multiple clauses of the First Amendment because it mandated viewpoint discrimination. The bill passed the Senate Committee on Government on a 5–1 party-line vote;[12] it was defeated on the Senate floor, with Republican Senators Ken Bennett and J. D. Mesnard voting no.[13]

During his tenure as a state Representative, Hoffman was vice-chair of the Arizona House's Committee on Government and Elections. He was also a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

As of 2024, Hoffman chairs the Arizona Senate's Committee on Government and Director Nominations. He is the vice chair of the Committee on Appropriations, and is a member of the Committee on Transportation, Technology, and Missing Children.[14]

Hoffman stood in the way of a memorial being erected to honor the memory of Dan Bolles, an Arizona Republic investigative reporter who covered the legislature, and who was killed in a car bombing by gangsters. As chair of the Government Affairs Committee, Hoffman did not give a bill to erect a memorial to Bolles a hearing, citing, "lots of important business."[3]

Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

Main articles: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and Trump fake electors plot

After Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the state of Arizona in the 2020 election, Hoffman was part of a slate of 11 Republican self-proclaimed "electors" who attempted to submit documents to the National Archives and Records Administration saying that Arizona had been won by Republican candidate Donald Trump.[15][16] The group of 11 claimed to be Arizona's electors, although Biden had won the state by 10,457 votes and the election results had already been certified by the state.[16]

As a fake elector, Hoffman was indicted by an Arizona grand jury in April 2024.[16][17][18] Despite his indictment for his part in the fake elector scheme, Hoffman was elected as the National Committeeman to the Republican National Committee.[3]

References

  1. ^ "2020 Arizona State Senate – District 12 Election Results". Shreveport Times.
  2. ^ "2020 Arizona State House – District 12 Election Results". USA Today.
  3. ^ a b c Fake Trump elector blamed, Arizona Republic, Richard Ruelas, May 29, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  4. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (June 11, 2021). "Revealed: rightwing firm posed as leftist group on Facebook to divide Democrats". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Mayer, Jane (August 2, 2021). "The Big Money Behind the Big Lie". The New Yorker.
  6. ^ "Analysis of an October 2020 Facebook Takedown Linked to U.S. Political Consultancy Rally Forge". cyber.fsi.stanford.edu.
  7. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Brnovich targets 'biggest anti-trust violation', Arizona Capitol Times, Nick Phillips, March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "HB2787, Arizona House of Representatives 55th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session" (PDF). www.azleg.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Arizona Republicans are pushing to divide Maricopa County. Critics claim it's about revenge for 2020 — and planning for 2024". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Video Player". www.azleg.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Fischer, Howard (February 7, 2024). "Panel votes to ban Satan displays from public property in Arizona". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Video Player". www.azleg.gov. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Senate Member". www.azleg.gov. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ^ Ruelas, Richard. "Arizona's Trump supporters refuse to detail creation of an alternate slate of electors". AZCentral.com.
  16. ^ a b c Vaughn Hillyard and Dareh Gregorian (April 25, 2024). "Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and Arizona 'fake electors' charged with state crimes". NBC News. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Barchenger, Stacey (April 24, 2024). "Grand jury indicts fake electors who falsely certified Donald Trump as 2020 winner in Arizona". Arizona Republic.
  18. ^ Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne (April 24, 2024). "Meadows, Giuliani and other Trump allies charged in Arizona 2020 election probe". The Washington Post.