2022 Arizona Secretary of State election

2022 Arizona Secretary of State election

November 8, 2022

Nominee Adrian Fontes Mark Finchem Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,320,619 1,200,411 Percentage 52.38% 47.62%

County results Congressional district results Fontes:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Finchem:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Secretary of State before election Katie Hobbs Democratic Elected Secretary of State Adrian Fontes Democratic

The 2022 Arizona Secretary of State election was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect the next Secretary of State of Arizona. Incumbent Secretary of State Katie Hobbs declined to run for a second term, to instead run for governor.^[1] Primary elections were held on August 2, 2022.^[2] Democrat and former Maricopa County recorder Adrian Fontes defeated Republican representative Mark Finchem by 4.8%.

Finchem was backed by the America First Secretary of State Coalition,^[3][4] a Republican group supporting Secretary of State candidates who championed the far-right conspiracy theory that falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the 2020 United States presidential election. Due to a combination of Arizona's role as a swing state in the previous presidential election, Finchem's views, and the role of the Secretary of State in certifying elections, the race took upon an uncharacteristically high national profile.

Democratic primary

State house minority leader Reginald Bolding finished second in the primary.

Candidates

Nominee

• Adrian Fontes, former Maricopa County Recorder (2017–2020) and U.S. Marine Corps veteran^[5][6]

Eliminated in primary

• Reginald Bolding, minority leader of the Arizona House of Representatives^[7]

Declined

• Katie Hobbs, incumbent Secretary of State^[1][8] (ran for Governor)

Debate

2022 Arizona Secretary of State Democratic primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Reginald Bolding	Adrian Fontes
1	Apr. 25, 2022	KAET	Ted Simons	YouTube	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Reginald Bolding	Adrian Fontes	Undecided
Lake Research Partners (D)[A]	July 24–26, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	35%	30%	28%
OH Predictive Insights (D)[B]	July 2022	537 (RV)	± 4.4%	29%	44%	27%
Lake Research Partners (D)[A]	July 2022	– (LV)	–	29%	35%	36%
Public Policy Polling (D)[C]	July 8–9, 2022	740 (LV)	± 3.6%	18%	32%	51%
Lake Research Partners (D)[A]	May 2022	– (LV)	–	14%	35%	51%
OH Predictive Insights	September 7–12, 2021	283 (RV)	± 5.8%	22%	17%	61%

Results

Democratic primary results by county

  Fontes

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Bolding

•   50–60%

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adrian Fontes	302,681	52.50%
	Democratic	Reginald Bolding	273,815	47.50%
Total votes			576,496	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mark Finchem, state representative for Arizona's 11th legislative district^[10][11]

Eliminated in primary

• Shawnna Bolick, state representative for Arizona's 20th legislative district^[12]
• Beau Lane, advertising executive^[13]
• Michelle Ugenti-Rita, state senator for Arizona's 23rd legislative district^[14]

Endorsements

Mark Finchem

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States (2017–2021)^[15]

Organizations

• America First Secretary of State Coalition^[4]

Beau Lane

Statewide officials

• Jan Brewer, former Governor of Arizona (2009–2015) and former Secretary of State of Arizona (2003–2009)^[16]
• Doug Ducey, Governor of Arizona (2015–present) and former State Treasurer of Arizona (2011–2015)^[17]
• Fife Symington, former Governor of Arizona (1990–1997)^[16]

Publications

• Casa Grande Dispatch^[18]

Debate

2022 Arizona Secretary of State Republican primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Shawnna Bolick	Mark Finchem	Beau Lane	Michelle Ugenti-Rita
1	Jun. 25, 2022	KAET	Ted Simons	YouTube	P	A	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Shawnna Bolick	Mark Finchem	Beau Lane	Michelle Ugenti-Rita	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	July 27–28, 2022	710 (LV)	± 4.0%	11%	27%	16%	12%	10%	25%
OH Predictive Insights	July 27, 2022	502 (LV)	± 4.4%	8%	32%	11%	9%	–	41%
OH Predictive Insights	June 30 – July 2, 2022	515 (LV)	± 4.3%	3%	14%	5%	6%	–	72%
OH Predictive Insights	April 4–5, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	3%	13%	2%	9%	–	74%
OH Predictive Insights	September 7–12, 2021	311 (RV)	± 5.6%	8%	11%	–	7%	–	74%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Mark Finchem	Kelly Townsend	Michelle Ugenti-Rita	Other	Undecided
HighGround Public Affairs (R)	May 3–5, 2021	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	5%	12%	4%	8%[b]	75%

Results

Republican primary results by county

  Finchem

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Finchem	329,884	42.56%
	Republican	Beau Lane	181,058	23.36%
	Republican	Shawnna Bolick	149,779	19.32%
	Republican	Michelle Ugenti-Rita	114,391	14.76%
Total votes			775,101	100.0%

General election

Debate

2022 Arizona Secretary of State debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Adrian Fontes	Mark Finchem
1	Sep. 22, 2022	KAET	Ted Simons	YouTube	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Tossup	November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[20]	Lean D	November 7, 2022

Endorsements

Adrian Fontes (D)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Dennis K. Burke, former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona (2009–2011)^[21]
• Marco A. López Jr., former Chief of Staff of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2009–2011), former Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce (2008–2009), former Mayor of Nogales (2001–2004), candidate for Governor of Arizona in 2022^[21]
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States (2009–2017)^[22]

U.S. Senators

• Dennis DeConcini, former Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee (1993–1995), former U.S. Senator from Arizona (1977–1995)^[21]

U.S. Representatives

• Liz Cheney, U.S. Representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district (2017–2023) (Republican)^[23]
• Raúl Grijalva, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources (2019–2023), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (2009–2019), U.S. Representative from Arizona's 3rd congressional district (2013–2023), former U.S. Representative from Arizona's 7th congressional district (2003–2013)^[21]
• Adam Kinzinger, U.S. Representative for Illinois's 16th congressional district (2011–2023) (Republican)^[24]

Statewide officials

• Paul K. Charlton, United States Attorney for the District of Arizona (2001–2006)^[25]
• Anna Tovar, Member of the Arizona Corporation Commission (2021–present), former Member of the Arizona Senate from the 19th district (2013–2015), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 13th district (2009–2013)

State legislators

• Sean Bowie, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 18th district (2017–present)^[21]
• Heather Carter, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 15th district (2019–2021), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives (2011–2019) (Republican)^[25]
• Andrea Dalessandro, Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 2nd district (2013–2014, 2021–present), former Member of the Arizona Senate from the 2nd district (2014–2021)^[21]
• Mitzi Epstein, Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 18th district (2017–present)^[21]
• Steve Farley, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 9th district (2013–2019), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 28th district (2007–2013)^[21]
• Brian Fernandez, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 4th district (2021–present)^[21]
• Sally Ann Gonzales, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 3rd district (2019–present), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 3rd district (2013–2019), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 27th district (2011–2013), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 20th district (1997–2001)^[21]
• Deb Gullett, Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 18th district (2001–2005) (Republican)^[25]
• Joel John, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 4th district (2021–present) (Republican)^[25]
• Lorenzo Sierra, Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 19th district (2019–present)^[21]
• Roberta Voss, Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 19th district (1997-2003) (Republican)^[25]

Local officials

• Steve Gallardo, Member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors from the 5th district (2015–present), former Member of the Arizona Senate from the 29th district (2013–2015), former Member of the Arizona Senate from the 13th district (2011–2013), former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 13th district (2003–2009)^[21]
• John Giles, Mayor of Mesa (2014–present) (Republican)^[25]
• Neil Giuliano, Mayor of Tempe (1994–2004)^[25]
• Phil Gordon, former Mayor of Phoenix (2004–2012), former Member of the Phoenix City Council (1997–2004)^[21]
• Paul Johnson, Mayor of Phoenix (1990–1994) (Independent)^[25]
• Regina Romero, Mayor of Tucson (2019–present)^[21]
• Rick Romley, County Attorney for Maricopa County (1989–2004, 2010) (Republican)^[25]

Individuals

• Don Bivens, former Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party (2009–2011)^[21]

Organizations

• End Citizens United^[21]
• Equality Arizona^[26]
• Everytown for Gun Safety^[21]
• Latino Victory^[21]
• National Organization for Women^[21]
• Stonewall Democrats of Arizona^[21]
• VoteVets.org^[21]

Labor unions

• AFL–CIO^[21]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[21]
• Communications Workers of America^[21]
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers^[21]
• LiUNA Building America^[21]
• Teamsters Local 104^[21]
• UFCW Local 99^[21]
• United Mine Workers of America^[27]

Mark Finchem (R)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States (2017–2021)^[15]

Organizations

• America First Secretary of State Coalition^[4]

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Adrian Fontes (D)	Mark Finchem (R)	Other	Undecided
Data Orbital (R)	November 4–6, 2022	550 (LV)	± 4.3%	47%	48%	1%[c]	4%
KAConsulting (R)[D]	November 2–3, 2022	501 (LV)	± 4.4%	43%	45%	–	9%
HighGround Inc.	November 1–2, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	45%	42%	2%[d]	11%
Big Data Poll (R)	October 31 – November 2, 2022	1,501 (LV)	± 3.0%	47%	47%	–	6%
OH Predictive Insights	October 24–26, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	48%	42%	–	11%
Siena College/NYT	October 24–26, 2022	604 (LV)	± 4.4%	47%	40%	–	13%
BSP Research/Shaw & Co.[E]	October 19–26, 2022	1,000 (RV)	± 3.1%	38%	37%	5%[e]	20%
Susquehanna Polling & Research (R)[F]	October 14–18, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	47%	42%	1%[f]	10%
HighGround Inc.	October 12–13, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	41%	42%	1%[g]	15%
CNN/SSRS	September 26 – October 2, 2022	900 (RV)	± 4.4%	45%	44%	10%[h]	–
		795 (LV)	± 4.6%	45%	49%	6%[i]	1%
SurveyUSA (D)[G]	September 27–30, 2022	563 (LV)	± 5.2%	44%	41%	–	15%
Global Strategy Group (D)[H]	September 13–20, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	46%	44%	–	10%
The Trafalgar Group (R)	September 14–17, 2022	1080 (LV)	± 2.9%	41%	48%	–	11%
OH Predictive Insights	September 6–9, 2022	654 (LV)	± 3.83%	35%	40%	–	25%

Hypothetical polling

Katie Hobbs vs. Michelle Ugenti-Rita

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Katie Hobbs (D)	Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R)	Undecided
OH Predictive Insights	March 8–12, 2021	690 (RV)	± 3.7%	36%	30%	35%

Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Generic Republican	Undecided
OH Predictive Insights	September 7–12, 2021	882 (RV)	± 3.3%	34%	37%	28%

Results

2022 Arizona Secretary of State election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Adrian Fontes	1,320,619	52.38%	+1.95%
	Republican	Mark Finchem	1,200,411	47.62%	−1.94%
Total votes			2,521,030	100.0%
	Democratic hold

By county

County	Adrian Fontes Democratic		Mark Finchem Republican		Write-in		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Apache	17,476	66.57	8,776	33.43	5	0.02	8,700	33.14	26,614
Cochise	19,402	41.97	26,827	58.03	48	0.10	-7,425	-16.06	46,666
Coconino	34,482	64.15	19,270	35.85	40	0.07	14,212	28.30	54,727
Gila	8,176	36.70	14,103	63.30	13	0.06	-5,927	-26.6	22,450
Graham	3,246	30.27	7,478	69.73	0	0.00	-4,232	-39.46	10,847
Greenlee	978	40.63	1,429	59.37	0	0.00	-451	-18.74	2,446
La Paz	1,736	31.89	3,708	68.11	6	0.11	-1,972	-36.22	5,499
Maricopa	813,492	53.67	702,376	46.33	469	0.03	111,116	7.34	1,543,535
Mohave	20,901	26.05	59,320	73.95	16	0.02	-38,419	-47.90	81,510
Navajo	18,701	46.77	21,280	53.23	13	0.03	-2,579	-6.46	40,411
Pima	244,349	61.86	150,680	38.14	121	0.03	93,669	23.72	398,553
Pinal	62,618	44.00	79,696	56.00	34	0.02	-17,078	-12.00	143,826
Santa Cruz	9,181	70.14	3,909	29.86	4	0.03	5,272	40.28	13,099
Yavapai	45,876	37.59	76,162	62.41	43	0.03	-30,286	-24.82	123,191
Yuma	20,005	44.06	25,397	55.94	8	0.02	-5,392	-11.88	46,111
Totals	1,320,619	52.38	1,200,411	47.62	820	0.03	17,117	0.67	2,559,485

By congressional district

Fontes won five out of nine congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans.^[29]

District	Fontes	Finchem	Representative
1st	54.0%	46.0%	David Schweikert
2nd	47.2%	52.8%	Tom O'Halleran (117th Congress)
			Eli Crane (118th Congress)
3rd	77.7%	22.3%	Ruben Gallego
4th	58.7%	41.3%	Greg Stanton
5th	45.2%	54.8%	Andy Biggs
6th	53.6%	46.4%	Ann Kirkpatrick (117th Congress)
			Juan Ciscomani (118th Congress)
7th	68.2%	31.8%	Raúl Grijalva
8th	47.3%	52.7%	Debbie Lesko
9th	38.3%	61.7%	Paul Gosar

Post-election legal challenge

In December 2022, Mark Finchem filed a lawsuit petitioning for the election to be "nullified and redone"; the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice that month by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian, confirming Adrian Fontes' victory in the election.^[30][31][32] While Finchem alleged that voting machines in Arizona were not properly certified, the judge rejected this, because the Election Assistance Commission did not vote to revoke certification, which is the procedure under federal law, so the judge rejected the merits of Finchem's arguments on voting machines certification.^[32][33] The judge also rejected the merits of Finchem's arguments on voting software certification.^[33] Next, regarding Finchem's issues with tabulating machines and a website listing for an estimated number of votes, the judge concluded that Finchem "does not allege that any of the votes cast were actually illegal" and does not allege that any legal vote was not counted, but only alleged "suspicions that some votes may not have been counted", so the judge rejected this argument as insufficient to overturn an election.^[32][34]

Then, the judge rejected Finchem's allegations of "misconduct" by Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as insufficient.^[32] Finchem argued that Hobbs should have recused after her gubernatorial opponent Kari Lake "perceived a conflict of interest", with the judge responding that this were "not well-pled facts; they are legal conclusions masquerading as alleged facts", and legal conclusions unsupported by Arizona law.^[33] Regarding Hobbs' actions in telling Mohave County and Cochise County to certify their election by the November 28 deadline, the judge stated that it was Hobbs' responsibility "to ensure the canvass and certification of a general election is completed within the statutorily prescribed timeframes", and that it was not misconduct for her "to communicate with other governing bodies to ensure" thus.^[34] Finally, the judge rejected Finchem's protest over his allegation that Twitter suspended his account in October 2022 as irrelevant because Twitter is not an "election official".^[34]

Finchem appealed the rejection of his election challenge, then abandoned the appeal in July 2023, with his lawyer citing other failed 2022 election challenging lawsuits in Arizona.^[35]

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. "Other" with 4%; Beau Lane with 0%
3. "Refused" with 1%
4. "Some other candidate" with 2%
5. "Someone else" with 5%
6. "Other" with 1%; "Refused" with <1%
7. "Some other candidate" with 1%
8. "Neither" with 7%; "Other" with 3%
9. "Neither" with 4%; "Other" with 2%

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by Our Vote Our Voice, which supports Bolding
2. This poll was sponsored by an unknown PAC
3. This poll was sponsored by an unknown client
4. Poll conducted for Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization.
5. Poll conducted for Univision.
6. Poll conducted for The Federalist, a conservative online magazine.
7. Poll sponsored by Fontes' campaign.
8. This poll was sponsored by End Citizens United and Let America Vote, who support Fontes

References

1. Oxford, Andrew. "In spotlight of audit, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs announces run for Arizona governor". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
2. Pedrosa, Camila (April 25, 2022). "Group plans appeal in effort to keep Biggs, Gosar, Finchem off ballot". Arizona PBS. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
3. Montellaro, Zach (August 1, 2022). "Trump-backed conspiracy theorist makes charge for chief election position in Arizona". Politico. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
4. "Candidates - America First Secretary of State Coalition". americafirstsos.com. November 26, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
5. "Ex-Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes running for secretary of state". KTAR.com. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
6. "Meet Adrian Fontes". Elect Fontes. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
7. Duda, Jeremy (June 14, 2021). "Bolding running for secretary of state, will face Fontes in Dem primary". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
8. Services, Howard Fischer Capitol Media. "Rep. Finchem showing interest in running for Arizona secretary of state". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
9. Arizona Secretary of State (August 22, 2022). "State of Arizona Official Canvass – August 2, 2022, Primary Election" (PDF). Retrieved August 26, 2022.
10. Villarreal, Daniel (March 29, 2021). "GOP Rep. Mark Finchem to run for Arizona Secretary of State as he faces recall effort over voter fraud claims". Newsweek. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
11. "[email protected] on Gab:". Gab Social. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
12. Duda, Jeremy (June 22, 2021). "Shawnna Bolick, author of bill to reject voters' presidential choice, running to be top elections official". AZ Mirror. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
13. Oxford, Andrew (June 29, 2021). "Beau Lane to seek Republican nomination for Arizona secretary of state". www.azcentral.com. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
14. Stone, Kevin (May 27, 2021). "State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita running for Arizona Secretary of State". KTAR.
15. Cooper, Jonathan (September 14, 2021). "Trump gives endorsement in Arizona secretary of state race". Fox 10 Phoenix. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
16. "Brewer and Symington Endorse Beau Lane for Secretary of State". Yellowsheet Report. February 23, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
17. "Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey endorses Beau Lane". Arizona Republic. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
18. "Editorial: Primary election". Casa Grande Dispatch. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
19. "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
20. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
21. "Adrian's Endorsements".
22. Stahl, Jeremy (November 8, 2022). "The Most Worrisome Election This Cycle". Slate. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
23. Boehm, Jessica (October 6, 2022). "Liz Cheney says 2 Arizona GOP candidates are a threat to democracy". Axios. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
24. Montellaro, Zach. "Kinzinger endorses Dems in major governor, secretary of state races". POLITICO. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
25. Macdonald-Evoy, Jerod (September 29, 2022). "GOP lawmaker backs Adrian Fontes over Mark Finchem to lead AZ elections". Retrieved September 30, 2022.
26. "Equality Arizona Endorsements". Equality Arizona.
27. "Arizona - COMPAC Endorsements". UMWA. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
28. "2022 General Election Statewide Canvass" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
29. Results. docs.google.com (Report).
30. "Judge dismisses Mark Finchem's lawsuit challenging election results". 12News. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
31. Julian, Melissa. "Order Granting Motions to Dismiss First Amended Verified Statement of Election Contest". Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
32. Gans, Jared (December 16, 2022). "Arizona Republican loses election lawsuit in secretary of state race". The Hill. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
33. Mendez, David (December 16, 2022). "Arizona court strikes down GOP candidate's election challenge". NY1. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
34. "Judge tosses Finchem's election challenge for lack of evidence". tucson.com. Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
35. Fischer, Howard (August 1, 2023). "Republican Mark Finchem drops appeal of 2022 loss in Arizona election". tucson.com. Retrieved August 3, 2023.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Mark Finchem (R) for Secretary of State
• Adrian Fontes (D) for Secretary of State