https://washingtonsun.com/arizona Arizona en-US Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:13:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/election-deniers-swing-state-control-arizona-nevada-wisconsin Adora Brown Secretary of state candidates in Nevada, Arizona and Wisconsin have cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 election. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:13:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/election-deniers-swing-state-control-arizona-nevada-wisconsin Candidates with a history of denying the 2020 election results are on the ballot in states across the country this fall, running for the position of secretary of state. If they win, they would be uniquely positioned to exert control over their states’ elections.

At least three presidential battlegrounds — Nevada, Arizona and Wisconsin — are among the states with candidates running in November who have cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 election. If they win, these candidates could be key allies to President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain voter rolls and federalize election administration.

“They may just willingly give up election materials. They may just willingly give up cast ballots. They may just willingly give up election machines,” said Edward Caspar, chief counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan legal advocacy group. “By having conspiracy-theory-minded individuals in power, it really puts that at risk.”

Unlike in other primaries, the president has rarely weighed in on secretary of state races.

But Alexander Kolodin, the Republican nominee for the position in Arizona, was endorsed by Trump in July. That endorsement could play a key role in November, as it has in several Republican primaries.

“Being a Trump ally, getting the Trump endorsement, and at least supporting Trump's claims of election fraud in 2020, or even beyond that, seem to give candidates an electoral boost,” said Rich Barton, a research fellow for Unite America, a nonpartisan election-reform group. “Over the last few years, election denialism has become something of a litmus test within the Republican Party.”

When asked if the president is looking at these nominees as potential allies in implementing voting restrictions, the White House demurred.

“President Trump wants every state in America to clean up their voter rolls and fully secure their elections, regardless of whether they are led by Democrats or Republicans,” Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, told NOTUS in a statement.

In Nevada, Jim Marchant, who is best known for standing alongside a group of Republicans who signed fake electoral certificates claiming Trump won the 2020 election in Nevada, won his primary in June. He has repeatedly undermined the results of the 2020 election, including in an interview with NBC News in 2022 in which he said, “it’s almost statistically impossible that Joe Biden won.”

It’s Marchant’s second run for secretary of state and his second time facing Cisco Aguilar, the incumbent. Marchant made his first run for the position as the president of the America First Secretary of State Coalition, a group of election deniers who ran for top election roles in 2022. His campaign site this year states that he wants voters to submit proof of citizenship to register and cast ballots, wants results to be hand-counted, and wants universal mail-in voting to end. It also claims that Marchant was “a victim of election fraud” in 2020 when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress.

Marchant’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Next door in Arizona, Kolodin, who helped file a lawsuit that questioned the results of the 2020 election and was later thrown out by a federal judge, won his primary in July. He’s campaigning to “harden systems” and “count every legal vote,” according to his campaign site, against incumbent Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Kolodin, currently a state representative, pushed and is campaigning on a proposition on track to appear on Arizona ballots this fall that could complicate voting, including through a measure that would require a photo ID to cast an absentee ballot.

“Arizona is a major swing state,” Kolodin said during a PBS debate in May. “The road to the White House runs directly through the Arizona secretary of state's office. It's incumbent that we put somebody in there who's ready to hit the ground Day 1.”

Kolodin’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Wisconsin’s Republican candidate, Jay Schroeder, is running on dismantling the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, a group of appointees who administer elections statewide. He told NBC in 2022 that he would not have certified the 2020 election results if he were secretary of state. Schroeder, whose campaign also did not respond to a request for comment, refers to the commission as a “failed experiment” on his campaign website.

“The current system is an arbitrary disaster that lacks the transparency Wisconsinites deserve,” Schroeder adds on his site.

One of Trump’s priorities is to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and tighten the requirements to vote by mail. The president’s long history of casting doubt on the integrity of elections has weakened voters' trust in election results across party lines.

“They are willing to say things to please the Republican base, to please Donald Trump, even if it's not a credible claim to start with,” said Rick Hasen, an election law expert and law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, of Republican candidates who agree with the president’s claims about the 2020 election. “It suggests that some of these people might be willing to help Trump subvert the outcome of elections if that's what Trump was trying to do.”
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/climate-environment/trump-plan-cuts-california-arizona-nevada-water-usage-colorado-river Mara Hoplamazian, Anna Kramer Arizona, Nevada and California are expected to be hit the hardest as Colorado River levels drop to historic lows. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:06:28 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/climate-environment/trump-plan-cuts-california-arizona-nevada-water-usage-colorado-river Arizona, California and Nevada are expecting the Trump administration to impose significant cuts to their water usage as Colorado River levels drop to historic lows.

Federal officials announced the first steps in their plan to manage Colorado River water use on Friday. The initial framework suggests that the three Lower Basin states will be asked to cut up to 1.5 million acre feet of water per year for the next two years — a significant reduction in their water consumption.

The country’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell, which sits between Utah and Arizona, and Lake Mead, which spans Arizona and Nevada, hit their lowest combined water levels on record earlier in July. Both are fed by the Colorado River. If levels drop much lower in Lake Powell, the Glen Canyon Dam will no longer be able to sustain the hydroelectric power plant that feeds electricity across much of the West.

The guidelines that have governed how states can use the water in the Colorado River for the last 19 years are set to expire at the end of 2026. Western states have been in negotiations for years on how to use water from the Colorado River moving forward, and remain at an impasse.

With no deal in sight, the Interior Department laid out a set of guidelines Friday that would help balance two needs: keeping enough water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and delivering enough water to communities that rely on the river.

Some of the federal government’s plans are based on a proposal the Lower Basin states themselves made earlier this year. The document, however, suggests cuts to those states’ water usage could be doubled in drought conditions to protect the Hoover Dam.

Arizona state officials immediately criticized the suggestion for those more aggressive cuts, calling it “unacceptable.”

“Such reductions would devastate Arizona’s water users and its economy,” the state officials said in a statement.

The guidelines would impose a plan for the next two years and then every two years after that for 10 years, unless states come to a consensus themselves during that time period.

The river provides water to nearly 40 million Americans and powers the agricultural economies across Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the river’s Upper Basin and Arizona, California and Nevada in the Lower Basin.

More than a dozen tribes also depend on water from the river but have been largely left out of the negotiations.

Since the current water usage framework was adopted in 2007, unprecedented drought has changed the hydrology of the basin, confounding efforts to manage the system.

Even with the deep cuts to water use, it’s not clear that the plan will turn into a sustainable solution.

The proposal from Lower Basin states is “the best there is so far,” said Sarah Porter, head of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. “But it’s not enough to keep the system from crashing, to keep the reservoirs from not being in the territory of hitting dead pool.”

After 2028, the terms of water conservation are murkier, with the possibility that more severe cuts could come for the Lower Basin states.

The Interior Department is limited in how it can enforce its plan. Arizona’s state Legislature will have to approve some of the plan, and some water boards in California may need to officially sign off on the agreement as well.

States could also sue the federal government over the proposal. Severe cuts to water resources could put state economies at risk, especially the agricultural operations in California and Arizona that depend heavily on irrigation from the river.

Arizona officials told reporters on Monday they reserved the right to pursue litigation if necessary.

The three Lower Basin states have long argued that the other four states should be required to share some of the most drastic cuts in especially dry years. The Upper Basin states together consume less water than is legally allotted to them, and argue that low snowpack and drier rivers have already caused them to cut water use. But their southern neighbors have proposed that no state should be excluded from legally enforced water conservation in the driest years.

“I actually think we’re at the point where Supreme Court litigation among the seven states may be the most hopeful vehicle for getting the states to come to a settlement,” Porter said.

Interior’s current plan covers the next 10 years, with checkpoints every two years. This design could allow the seven states to continue negotiating with each other and with Interior to address the river crisis moving forward.

The amount of water flowing through the basin has been dropping significantly over the last decade because of a combination of factors, primarily persistent droughts, decreasing snowpack in the Upper Basin states, high temperatures causing the water levels to fall, and overuse of the water that remains. Almost half of all water used from the river goes toward irrigated agriculture.

Arizona, California and Nevada have been voluntarily reducing their water usage for the last several years, paying farmers to leave fields dry in return for billions in drought relief payments from the federal government.

Monday’s framework did not specify whether Interior would pursue funding to pay for similar efforts in the future.
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/arizona-republican-primaries-trump-biggs Angie Orellana Hernandez Some of the Republican nominees would have critical roles in overseeing the 2028 election if they were to win in November. Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:04:11 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/arizona-republican-primaries-trump-biggs President Donald Trump claimed victory after his favored candidates — including deniers of the 2020 election results — won their Republican primaries in Arizona on Tuesday.

At the forefront of Tuesday’s winners was Rep. Andy Biggs, the former chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, who will be the Republican nominee for governor after besting his colleague, moderate conservative Rep. David Schweikert. Biggs, a Trump ally, voted not to certify results of the 2020 election. Biggs will face incumbent Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, in November’s general election.

“MAGA candidates won everything last night in Arizona, a complete sweep!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in all capital letters. “I won Arizona 18 months ago. The Dumocrats are dumbfounded. After decades, Arizona is becoming a Republican state.”

If Trump’s preferred candidates prevail in November, they could play key roles in overseeing and certifying the 2028 election. And Biggs isn’t the only newly minted nominee who questioned the results in 2020, when Trump lost the state.

The second Trump administration has targeted Arizona’s Maricopa County as part of its efforts to investigate long-debunked claims that the 2020 election was rigged. The FBI subpoenaed election records from the county in March, which were handed over by state Senate President Warren Petersen.

Petersen received the Republican nomination on Tuesday for attorney general. He previously assisted in launching a controversial audit of the 2020 election overseen by Cyber Ninjas, a Trump-friendly cybersecurity company. The audit found that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

State Rep. Alexander Kolodin secured the Republican nomination for secretary of state, the state’s top election official. Kolodin was disciplined in 2023 by the State Bar of Arizona for his role in various lawsuits attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump praised Petersen and Kolodin during a Turning Point USA rally in April, stating that they would help achieve his plans of “building a red wall.”

Other Trump-backed candidates who won congressional primaries on Tuesday include Mark Lamb, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. Former NFL kicker Jay Feely and Rep. Juan Ciscomani also won their primaries for the House.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/ruben-gallego-eric-swalwell-money-contribution Christa Dutton The Arizona senator’s campaign donated the money about a month after Swalwell resigned from Congress following sexual misconduct allegations. Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:31:16 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/ruben-gallego-eric-swalwell-money-contribution Sen. Ruben Gallego’s campaign gave $19,000 received from former Rep. Eric Swalwell to a sexual and domestic violence organization in Arizona, according to a new finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

A Gallego campaign spokesperson confirmed to NOTUS that the $19,000 was originally given to Gallego from Swalwell’s campaign.

The Gallego campaign donated the money to the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence on May 11, about a month after Swalwell resigned from Congress following accusations of sexual assault and misconduct.

A former staffer of Swalwell’s told the San Francisco Chronicle that he sexually assaulted her twice while she was intoxicated. Other women also accused him of sexual misconduct. Swalwell denied these allegations.

The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence did not return NOTUS’ request for comment.

Swalwell and Gallego were close friends, and Gallego previously said that he was unaware of the alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell until the news broke.

Gallego, who won his Senate seat in 2024, is considering a run for president in 2028.

The senator’s campaign finance activity has recently made news for other reasons.

The Department of Justice is investigating Gallego for alleged campaign finance violations. In response, a Gallego spokesperson last month accused President Donald Trump of targeting Gallego with the “most weaponized Department of Justice in history” while “turning a blind eye to Trump’s unprecedented corruption.”

A top Gallego operative has also recently created a mysterious nonprofit that’s able to raise unlimited funds, NOTUS reported in June.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/sen-mark-kelly-backs-military-veterans-hegseth Joe Gould The senator will deploy his cash and clout to back 10 military veterans, including a former Navy officer fired by the defense secretary. Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/sen-mark-kelly-backs-military-veterans-hegseth Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attacks have boosted Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s profile and war chest. Now he will use both to back Nancy Lacore, a former vice admiral who’s running for Congress after Hegseth fired her.

Kelly’s political operation plans to announce Wednesday that it will support Lacore among 10 military veteran candidates in competitive House races, highlighting the Arizona senator’s growing national influence that has fueled speculation about a potential 2028 White House run.

The new endorsements also unite two veterans who say they have become targets of the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize the military.

“The one thing we share is we both consider public service to be about delivering results to people and about the Constitution, not about political games,” Lacore told NOTUS. “Yet we have both been caught up in some political games, thanks to Pete Hegseth.”

Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut, is locked in a high-profile legal and political battle with Hegseth after he and other lawmakers urged troops to refuse unlawful orders. Hegseth responded by issuing a censure and threatening to demote Kelly's retired rank and cut his pension.

“Senator Kelly is proud to support these battle-tested leaders because they bring the grit and service-oriented perspective that Congress needs right now,” Marisol Samayoa, a Kelly spokesperson, said in a statement to NOTUS.

His political team said Kelly’s campaign will donate $2,500 to each candidate, the maximum amount his committee can give to a House campaign, along with providing fundraising support from Kelly’s donor network.

Lacore, the former chief of the Navy Reserve, won the Democratic primary in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District after Hegseth fired her last year in his purge of a dozen senior military officers.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace didn’t seek reelection in order to focus on her failed gubernatorial bid, leaving behind a district the Cook Political Report moved from "solid Republican" to "lean Republican."

For Lacore, Kelly’s endorsement offers validation from one of the country’s most prominent veteran-politicians as she tries to win over moderate Republicans and independents in a district with one of the country’s largest military communities.

“The way he comes across, it's really more about service,” she said. “He hasn't gotten lost in the political shenanigans that we see in D.C. so often. And frankly, everyone loves an astronaut.”

After 35 years in uniform, Lacore said her career ended abruptly when she was called into a senior officer’s office and informed Hegseth had ordered her firing. “There was no reason given,” she said, and within an hour, she had packed her belongings and left the Pentagon for good.

“There's a lot of drama surrounding the Pentagon, and it's touched me, and it's touched Senator Kelly,” Lacore said. “I think exactly what people don't want is this political drama.”

Beyond Lacore, Kelly has endorsed Democrats in more than two dozen House and statewide battleground races and contributed more than $1 million in direct contributions to candidates and committees. He plans to campaign this fall Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in Ohio after appearing with Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia and Roy Cooper, the former governor running for Senate in North Carolina.

In addition to Lacore, Kelly also will endorse Jessica Killin in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, Eileen Laubacher in Colorado’s 4th, Bale Dalton in Florida’s 7th, Darren McAuley in Florida’s 12th, Leela Gray in Florida’s 13th, Zach Dembo in Kentucky’s 6th, Kristina Knickerbocker in Ohio’s 10th, Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey’s 7th and Cait Conley in New York’s 17th.

Kelly has said he is seriously considering a 2028 presidential run, but Samayoa pushed back on the suggestion that all the political activity is meant to set the stage for that effort.

“He just wants to be able to utilize whatever resources he can — goodwill, his own name and bipartisan brand — to do everything to make sure that we win back majorities,” she said.

This story was updated with additional reporting.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/jonathan-nez-congress-tribal-leadership Adora Brown Jonathan Nez would be the only Native American with elected tribal leadership experience in Congress. Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:13:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/jonathan-nez-congress-tribal-leadership Jonathan Nez spent four years serving as president of the Navajo Nation, where he responded to issues raised by the pandemic, water shortages, food deserts and infrastructure challenges. He testified multiple times before Congress.

Now he wants to be part of it.

The former president of the tribe is the only Democrat running in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat currently held by Republican Rep. Eli Crane. Nez would be the first Native American to represent Arizona if elected, and he argues that his tribal experience makes him uniquely qualified to represent the district in one of the most competitive House races this year.

“I sat in congressional hearings, testifying on behalf of people. I might even go as far as to say I sat in front of committees more, time-wise, than my opponent has ever done,” Nez said. “I have fought for people that are in my jurisdiction, and I'll continue to do that at a larger capacity.”

It’s a key race for the Democratic Party in its efforts to take back control of the House of Representatives. For advocates of more Native American representation in Congress, it’s also a rare opportunity to get someone with tribal leadership experience into the halls of Congress.

In the class of current Native American lawmakers and candidates, Nez is the only one with experience as an elected tribal leader.

In an interview with NOTUS, Nez, who also served on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors, emphasized his desire to represent all constituents, not just tribe members. He said that as he’s campaigned, he’s sensed discontent among voters — particularly ones from rural areas — about policy decisions that don’t prioritize pressing issues for the district.

“They bring up that costs are too high. They can’t afford healthy food, let alone find it. Health care centers are on the brink of closure, and the other is, there’s a real concern about water security,” Nez said. “I travel the district and people are very upset.”

But he also said that his time in tribal leadership has taught him a lot about how power in Washington works and that there’s more to it than introducing bills.

“I think Democrats have a lot to learn from Republicans or vice versa. And it's all about coming back together, working things out, compromising to get things done. Give and take,” Nez told NOTUS. “That's how this government was established. You can't get everything you want, and sometimes you have to compromise. That's being an effective lawmaker.”

At a moment when the Trump administration’s agenda is having an outsized effect on rural communities, Nez said his experience representing a tribe that is geographically bigger than some states has positioned him well for a rematch against Crane.

Nez first ran against Crane for the seat — which stretches across half of Arizona — in 2024, and Crane beat him by 9 percentage points. This year, Democrats are bullish about his chances in the battleground state, given historic political headwinds Republicans are expected to face. The district is categorized as likely to favor Republican candidates by Cook Political Report, and it’s included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” list of target districts.

Crane’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment about a rematch against Nez.

But Nez told NOTUS he feels better positioned to run against Crane this time around, with more support systems around the country for Native American candidates.

“When we elect Native people, the theory of change behind that is not just electing Native people to get a higher number of us in office,” said Jordan James Harvill, the senior director of national programs at Advance Native Political Leadership, an organization focused on electing more Native American lawmakers. “There's a genuine belief that Native folks operate through a prism of lived experience that benefits everybody.”

Holly Cook Macarro, a tribal advocate and political strategist, told NOTUS that this election could be a major watershed year for Indian Country representation in Congress, and she’s hoping to see the results of years of organizing come to fruition.

“This is a historic year in terms of the number of Native American candidates that we have that are not niche candidates but are true leading candidates in their races,” Cook Macarro said.

There are only a handful of Native American lawmakers on the Hill, including Reps. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) and Sharice Davids (D-Kansas).

But the midterms could result in a blue wave of lawmakers with tribal membership to the House and Senate. Michigan state Rep. Sean McCann, a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, is running for a House seat, and Mary Peltola, a former lawmaker and Yup'ik tribe member, is running for a Senate seat in Alaska. Peggy Flanagan, the current lieutenant governor of Minnesota and a citizen of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, is running in the state’s Democratic Senate primary race.

Nez said that during his tenure as president, he collaborated closely with his Republican Navajo Nation vice president and worked with the federal government as it flipped between parties.

He said that a bipartisan approach is something he is hoping to bring to Congress.

“It's all about relationship-building,” Nez said.

Nez and Crane are both running uncontested in their primaries, which are set for July 21. For Nez, a win this fall would be historic.

“Yes, I am vying to be the first Native American to be elected from Arizona to the U.S. House of Representatives. That also means that I will be bringing a different perspective in Congress,” Nez said. “They have yet to hear a voice like mine.”
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/congress/ruben-gallego-legal-defense-fund Jenna Monnin The senator denies any wrongdoing and pushes back on “right-wing conspiracy theorists.” Thu, 28 May 2026 00:43:36 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/congress/ruben-gallego-legal-defense-fund Sen. Ruben Gallego has quietly established a legal defense fund amid unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct. The Arizona Democrat filed papers Friday to form the fund, according to an Internal Revenue Service document.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna alleged in April that an unidentified senator was facing "very disturbing" allegations in a post to social media, and later identified Gallego as the unnamed lawmaker in an interview with CBS News.

Luna, a Florida Republican, said some of the allegations are "sexual in nature" while others involve violations of campaign finance laws. The congresswoman also said Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office was investigating the accusations. Before Luna identified Gallego, Thune told reporters that Luna’s allegations had been referred to the Senate's Select Committee on Ethics.

Gallego set up the fund specifically as a result of Luna's ethics filing, Gallego's office said.

“Senator Gallego is under attack from right-wing conspiracy theorists like Anna Paulina Luna, the Trump Administration, and their cronies,” Gallego spokesperson Jacques Petit told NOTUS in a statement. “This White House has made clear it is their priority to abuse their power and target political enemies. Senator Gallego will not stand for it.”

A Gallego spokesperson in April vehemently denied Luna’s allegations, calling them “right wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far right member of Congress,” in a statement shared with CBS at the time.

Gallego has recently also faced scrutiny in connection with his relationship with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and withdrew from the California governor’s race amid bombshell accusations of sexual misconduct.

Gallego and Swalwell shared over a decade of friendship, but Gallego told reporters at a news conference in April that he “fell for the lies.”

Gallego said he was aware of rumors of his friend’s “flirty” behavior, but denied any awareness of the more serious allegations against Swalwell, which included sexual assault, other non-consenual sexual encounters and harassment. Swalwell apologized for “mistakes in judgement” but called the allegations false and vowed to fight them.

"My friendship with him, our family’s friendship together with him, clouded my judgment, and I was wrong. I deeply, deeply regret that," Gallego said.

Gallego eventually joined calls for Swalwell to relinquish his seat in Congress.

Gallego joins a growing list of lawmakers who have created their own defense funds.

After President Donald Trump’s public attacks on Sen. Adam Schiff for alleged corruption and illegal behavior prompted a Justice Department investigation into the California senator, Schiff’s legal defense fund reportedly raked in over $1 million in February, only six months after it was created.

Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin also established legal defense funds after the president accused them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” for their participation in a video telling military service members to refuse “illegal” orders. The senators and four other Democratic lawmakers faced Justice Department investigations, but the probes did not result in any indictments.

Gallego, who has been seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, introduced an amendment last week to prevent Trump from creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund for those seeking damages for alleged persecution. The amendment was blocked by Senate Republicans.

Gallego is required to file quarterly reports with the Senate Ethics Committee identifying any donors who have contributed more than $25 to his legal defense fund. Individual donations are capped at $10,000, and a select group of people and entities like corporations, unions, lobbyists, foreign agents and Senate employees are not allowed to donate.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's name.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/kari-lake-trump-media-side-hustles Adora Brown The former U.S. Agency for Global Media leader made money from a book, a song and social media. Wed, 20 May 2026 21:02:36 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/kari-lake-trump-media-side-hustles Kari Lake benefited from several streams of media-related income around or during the time she served — illegally, a federal court ruled — as de facto leader of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, according to a new federal financial disclosure.

As a book author, Lake reported earning between $5,001 and $15,000 in royalties from her 2023 tome “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.” The book is published by Winning Team Publishing, which Donald Trump Jr. co-founded — Charlie Kirk, Jeanine Pirro and President Donald Trump himself are among others who’ve worked with the label.

As a recording artist, Lake reported earning $200 or less in royalties from her 2023 song, “81 Million Votes, My Ass,” which mocks the validity of the 2020 presidential election’s results.

On social media, Lake disclosed making $23,352 from monetizing her X account, which has 3.1 million followers.

Lake, who lost in Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial race and 2024 U.S. Senate race, also disclosed making a little over $3,000 from “fees collected for email and mailing list rental” to a conservative mailing list management company.

The financial disclosure examined by NOTUS covers Lake’s income and liabilities from March 2025 to March 2026.

In total, Lake made a minimum of $42,000 from her side hustles during that time, according to her disclosure.

Lake is now awaiting confirmation as Trump’s U.S. ambassador to Jamaica.

Earlier this month, Lake signed an ethics agreement for her potential appointment. In it, she agrees not to receive compensation for work through her company, Awake Media LLC, while noting she’ll continue using the company to earn mailing list rental fees. She also said she’d keep accepting book royalties.

As part of the agreement, Lake plans to divest from several stocks and sector funds that could present a conflict of interest. She also said she would demonetize her X account, if appointed. The White House declined to answer questions from NOTUS about Lake’s finances.

“Kari Lake will make an incredible ambassador to the great country of Jamaica, and the White House looks forward to her swift confirmation,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, told NOTUS in an emailed statement.

Lake did not respond to a request for comment from NOTUS.

“Jamaica is a country I know very well, full of incredible people, and if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to strengthening the partnership between our nations, advancing America’s interests abroad, and building on the deep friendship shared by the American and Jamaican people,” Lake said in an X post.

According to the court judgment that ruled Lake’s position at the U.S. Agency for Global Media unlawful, Lake received a “delegation order” in March 2025 to perform the vast majority of the agency’s leadership functions under the title “senior advisor.”

By July 2025, she assumed the title “deputy CEO.” She served as “acting CEO” from July 2025 until November 2025. During her tenure, Lake sought to dismantle the agency, which is the parent organization of international broadcaster Voice of America. But upon Lake’s departure in March, a federal judge reinstated more than 1,000 agency employees.

The court ruled in March 2026 that Lake’s position at the agency was illegal as she was never confirmed by the Senate to take over the agency, even in an “acting” or interim role. High-level, Senate-confirmed officials typically sign ethics agreements detailing how they will conduct their personal finances while serving in a public leadership position. Lake did not sign an ethics agreement while at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/arizona/fbi-subpoena-arizona-records-maricopa-county-2020-election-probe Torrie Herrington In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump responded to the news: “Great!!!” Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:06:03 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/arizona/fbi-subpoena-arizona-records-maricopa-county-2020-election-probe The Trump administration issued a grand jury subpoena for election records from Arizona’s largest county last week, part of an accelerating effort to prove President Donald Trump’s long-debunked assertions that the 2020 presidential race was rigged against him.

Arizona state Senate President Warren Petersen confirmed that the chamber, which carried out a partisan audit of the state’s results in Maricopa County shortly after the 2020 election was called for Joe Biden, received the audit and had turned over its records to the FBI.

“Late last week I received and complied with a federal grand jury subpoena for records relating to the Arizona State Senate’s 2020 audit of Maricopa County. The FBI has the records,” Warren posted on X. “Any other report is fake news.”

In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump responded to a news report about the subpoena, writing: “Great!!!”

This development comes after the FBI raided a Fulton County, Georgia, government building last month to seize election records. In 2020, Trump requested a separate recount in Georgia, where Biden’s victory was also upheld.

Much like Georgia, Arizona has been a central part of Republican claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

However, in 2021, a GOP-backed audit found Biden did win Maricopa County — by 360 votes more than the initial count.

The recent investigations into these counties’ voting data come at a time when Trump has also suggested the Republican Party should nationalize elections.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” Trump said on a podcast last month. “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

It remains unclear how Trump would accomplish a federal takeover of election duties. The Constitution explicitly says states are in charge of election administration.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/arizona/trump-endorsed-karrin-taylor-robson-drops-out-of-arizona-governors-race Amelia Benavides-Colón The announcement ends a bitterly contested primary battle in which President Donald Trump endorsed two rival candidates. Fri, 13 Feb 2026 01:26:46 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/arizona/trump-endorsed-karrin-taylor-robson-drops-out-of-arizona-governors-race Arizona Republican Karrin Taylor Robson on Thursday dropped her bid for governor, a surprise decision that ends a bitterly contested primary battle in which President Donald Trump endorsed two rival candidates.

Robson earned Trump’s endorsement in 2024 — though her path to the nomination was complicated by the entrance of Rep. Andy Biggs, an avowed Trump ally that the president was quick to endorse last April as well.

“We cannot afford a divisive Republican primary that drains resources and turns into months of intraparty attacks,” Robson said in her announcement Thursday. “It only weakens our conservative cause and gives the left exactly what they want: a fractured Republican Party heading into November. With so much on the line in 2026, I am not willing to contribute to that outcome.”

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Robson, a business executive who had earned a reputation as a moderate before pivoting to court Trump’s MAGA base, previously lost the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary to local news anchor and Trump ally Kari Lake in 2022.

In a post to X, Biggs, who also holds the endorsement of conservative youth group Turning Point USA, acknowledged Robson’s “well-run campaign.”

“Our campaign is now the only campaign endorsed by President Trump and Charlie Kirk, as well as dozens of state legislators and leaders across Arizona,” Biggs posted. “We intend to win and defeat Katie Hobbs in November, but the time for Republicans to unite behind our campaign is now.”

Democrats took Robson’s withdrawal Thursday as a sign of momentum.

“Karrin Taylor Robson saw the writing on the wall and knows that Gov. Katie Hobbs is going to win re-election because of her bipartisan record of lowering costs, securing the border, and protecting healthcare,” Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, said in a statement to Politico. “No matter who emerges from this chaotic primary, we will stay focused on building a winning coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who believe in putting Arizona first.”

In a separate statement, the Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Sam Newton said, “Karrin Taylor Robson knows what Andy Biggs and David Schweikert will quickly learn: Arizonans want Governor Katie Hobbs to lead their state for another four years.”

“While Biggs and Schweikert duke it out in a nasty, expensive GOP primary, Gov. Hobbs is only going to continue earning support across party lines because she always puts Arizona first by lowering costs, creating jobs and securing the border,” the DGA’s statement concluded.

The Republican primary, which also includes Rep. David Schweikert, is scheduled for July 21.]]>