OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich rejected claims of election fraud after the 2020 election during an interview on Fox Business.
According to him, Trump’s loss was the result of voters that split their ballots, voting for Democrats in the presidential and Senate election races at the top, and voting for GOP candidates lower on the ballot.
Brnovich is running for U.S. Senate.
Blake Masters, another Republican Senate candidate in Arizona, challenged Brnovich to debate the handling of his office’s investigation into the 2020 elections, in which Trump lost Arizona by 10,457 votes to Joe Biden.
Many of Trump’s supporters believe Brnovich’s actions will lead to a reversal of Trump’s loss, and Masters’ remarks fuel their belief that the election was stolen.
The debate was attended by President Trump.
Brnovich declined to participate in the debate, nor did he respond to Masters’ invitation.
In order to virtually attend the ceremony, Trump stepped away from a wedding he was hosting. He made his feelings about Brnovich clear in a speech to the audience after it became clear that Brnovich didn’t show up out of fear.
As reported in The Arizona Republic –
Trump said he broke away from a 500-person wedding at his Florida resort to call into Masters’ campaign event, held outdoors at a Chandler business near Arizona Avenue and Highland Street and attended by more than 100 people.
Brnovich was never expected to attend the event and did not.
“I just want to thank you all, you’re an incredible group. I heard Blake was the person that showed up and I want to thank Blake,“ Trump said through a cellphone to a cheering crowd.
Trump lambasted Brnovich for his ‘middle path’ approach, where the Attorney General refused to admit that fraud occurred, but only stressed that the investigation was continuing nearly five months after it was initiated.
The Republic continued:
Trump claimed Brnovich wanted “to take that middle path” with his recent “interim report,” which made no accusations of wrongdoing on the part of any individuals and did not cite specific instances of possible crimes. It did, however, note that the “investigation is still developing in material ways.”
Trump said of Brnovich: “He found all sorts of things, but he didn’t want to do anything about it.”
A spokesperson for Brnovich did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks. The attorney general has previously said he would follow facts and evidence “and do what the law requires” for his investigation.
President Donald Trump calling in to “thank @bgmasters” for showing up to tonight’s debate. Brnovich a no-show. pic.twitter.com/e3VTRWoGfp
— Zachery Henry (@zhenryaz) May 1, 2022
Trump called after Masters finished his 25-minute campaign pitch in which he repeatedly noted Brnovich was the only candidate who hadn’t shown up. He planned the event in the hopes that Brnovich would attend.
“I really did want Brnovich to show up, although you know what, to be fair to Mr. Brnovich, I suspected he wouldn’t show up, you know, it’s not exactly neutral turf … he probably suspected that the crowd wasn’t going to be neutral,” Masters explained.
Two podiums were staged behind him: one for Brnovich and one for Masters. The two men are running in the GOP primary for Arizona’s Senate seat in 2022 against Sen. Mark Kelly. The four others are Jim Lamon, retired Arizona national guard adjutant general Michael “Mick” McGuire, and Arizona Corporation Commission member Justin Olson.
In a tossup race, Trump’s endorsement could be pivotal, and his phone call strengthened speculation that he may endorse Masters. Among Masters’ friends is Peter Thiel, a Trump ally assisting Masters’ 2022 campaign through an external group.
A few of the top concerns among this group were illegal immigration, inflation, the economy, and education.
“But at an event that also featured Christina Bobb, who rose to fame as a far-right media personality during Arizona’s 2021 ballot review, election integrity was top of mind as well. The event also featured other like-minded conservatives such as Liz Harris, a former Republican legislative candidate who launched the “Voter Integrity Project,” assembling volunteers to knock on doors to examine the legitimacy of voter ballots for the 2020 presidential election,” according to the AZ Republic.
Earlier this month, Trump indicated his impatience and unhappiness with Brnovich for his lengthy investigation into the 2020 election, echoing concern by some conservatives that he is trying to extend the probe as long as possible to curry favor with conservatives and the former president.
Brnovich began the investigation last fall after Republican Senate President Karen Fann asked him to examine the results of the ballot review conducted by Republican state senators last year. This review was performed on 2.1 million votes cast in Maricopa County in 2020. An audit was conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a Senate contractor.
It has been previously indicated that Trump will not be endorsing Brnovich in the race, which may decide what party controls the Senate.
Trump ended his conversation with a thank you to the crowd and promised a Trump campaign in 2024.
“You’re incredible people and we’re going to make you happy in the end,” he told them. “You’re going to be very happy.”
Source: The Republic Brief