Mark Finchem

Last updated

Finchem is opposed to abortion. As a state representative, he voted to ban all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with an exception where the life of the mother is at stake. [53]

Response to the 2020 presidential election

Following the 2020 United States presidential election, Finchem supported Donald Trump's false claim to have won the election nationally and in Arizona. [54] On the same day that Joe Biden's victory in Arizona was certified by state election officials, Finchem met with Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani to discuss the election; he has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the election was "stolen" from Trump. [13] Finchem has promoted the "independent state legislature theory"; after Biden's victory in 2020, he called for the Arizona legislature to appoint presidential electors of its own choosing. Finchem promoted the then-fringe theory before it gained currency among mainstream Republicans. [16] [55]

In 2021, Finchem shared on social media a "report" falsely claiming to have uncovered tens of thousands of missing or lost votes, and tens of thousands of votes fraudulently cast, in Maricopa County, Arizona. The report was based on extrapolations from a non-random sample of a much smaller number of voters and was rejected by county elections officials and political scientists. [56] In 2022, two years after the election, Finchem introduced a resolution in the state legislature to "reclaim" Arizona's electors on the basis of his false claim that the results in three Arizona counties were "irredeemably compromised"; the resolution did not receive a hearing in the House. [13]

A business affiliated with Finchem, Mrk Finchem PLLC [ sic ], received $6,037 from the Trump reelection campaign. The payment was first reported upon in February 2021. Finchem said the payment was for security costs related to his meeting with Giuliani. [55]

Finchem has advocated for banning mail-in voting. [57] [58] In a September 2022 debate, Finchem said, "I don't care for mail-in voting. That's why I go to the polls." However, Finchem voted by mail 28 times between 2004 and 2020 in Pima County, Arizona. [57] [58]

2021 U.S. Capitol attack

Finchem traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in the January 6, 2021, protest that was followed by an attack on the U.S. Capitol. He claimed, without offering any evidence, that "this election was a fraud", and tweeted photographs of protestors massed on the steps of the Capitol building. [59] [54] Finchem later claimed that leftists had instigated the violence. [60] He was later interviewed as a witness by the Justice Department and the House committee investigating the Capitol riots. [59]

A coalition of community organizations subsequently called for the expulsion of Finchem and six other Arizona Republican lawmakers who advocated overturning the 2020 election. [54] [61] In response to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) briefing that said antifa groups were not involved in the attack on the Capitol, Finchem said he did not "trust a word that comes out of the FBI's mouth". [62]

Promotion of other conspiracy theories

In 2013, Finchem argued that Barack Obama was seeking to establish a "totalitarian dictatorship." [3] On his Pinterest account, Finchem kept a "Treason Watch List" with photos of prominent Democrats, including Jesse Jackson, Janet Napolitano, and John Kerry; he also posted about stockpiling ammunition. [63]

In 2017, Finchem baselessly described the white supremacist Unite the Right rally as a "deep state psyop" carried out by Democrats. [3] [15] He endorses a variant of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. [15]

During his 2022 campaign for Arizona secretary of state, Finchem toured with fringe figures. [13] He embraced QAnon conspiracy theories, [15] and attended a conference of QAnon followers that opened with a video trafficking in antisemitism and repeating debunked conspiracy theories. [29] Finchem also attended a Newport Beach, California fundraiser, promoted by ex-Trump advisors Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn, with Nicole Nogrady, a conspiracy theorist who claimed that fetal tissue was in the food supply and that the September 11 attacks were a federal government plot. [13] In August 2022, he attended a Wisconsin gathering of the "Church Militant" movement, a self-proclaimed "Christian militia" that says that it combats "sin, the devil and the demonic rulers of the darkness of this world." [13]

In October Finchem tweeted that Google's search algorithm was biased against his campaign because its website did not come up in searches on his name. Grid, a tech news website, found that that was true, but that Google apparently had nothing to do with it. Instead, the noindex tag, which tells webcrawlers not to list the site in results, was present in the metatag of the site's HTML code. Whether that was the result of an error in coding the page was not known; the tag had apparently been added to it in late July. Finchem did not respond to Grid's request for an explanation when they called him. [64]

Personal life

Finchem has been married four times, and has been estranged for over two decades from two adult children and has not met his grandchildren by them, according to family members. He also has two stepchildren. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kari Lake</span> American news anchor and political candidate (born 1969)

Kari Lake Halperin is an American former television news anchor. A member of the Republican Party, she is a candidate in the 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona. She was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Hobbs</span> Governor of Arizona since 2023

Kathleen Marie Hobbs is an American politician and social worker serving since 2023 as the 24th governor of Arizona. Hobbs is the first social worker to be elected governor of a U.S. state and is Arizona's fifth female governor. A member of the Democratic Party, she was secretary of state of Arizona from 2019 to 2023 and a member of the Arizona State Legislature from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John J. Tuchi</span> American judge (born 1964)

John Joseph Tuchi is an American lawyer who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli Ward</span> American politician (born 1969)

Kelli Ward is an American politician who served as the chair of the Arizona Republican Party from 2019 to 2023. She previously served in the Arizona State Senate from 2013 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Kern</span> American politician

Anthony Kern is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing District 27 since 2023. He previously represented District 20 in the State House of Representatives from January 5, 2015, to January 11, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince Leach</span> American politician

Venden "Vince" Leach is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican, he was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 2019 to 2023, representing District 11. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Marchant</span> American politician (born 1956)

James Carl Marchant Jr. is an American politician in Nevada. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 37th district in the Nevada Assembly, covering parts of the northwestern Las Vegas Valley, from 2016 to 2018. A staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, Marchant was the Republican nominee for Nevada's 4th congressional district in 2020 and for Secretary of State of Nevada in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Arizona gubernatorial election</span> Election for Governor of Arizona

The 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arizona, concurrently with other federal and state elections. Incumbent Republican governor Doug Ducey was term-limited and ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs narrowly defeated Republican former television journalist Kari Lake.

Robert J. Sutherland is a former American politician previously serving as a member of the Washington House of Representatives for the 39th district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican reactions to Donald Trump's claims of 2020 election fraud</span>

Members of the United States Republican Party have reacted differently to Republican president Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 United States presidential election, with many publicly supporting them, many remaining silent, and a few publicly denouncing them. Trump falsely claimed to have won the election, and made many false and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. By December 11, 2020, 126 out of 196 Republican members of the House backed a lawsuit filed in the United States Supreme Court supported by nineteen Republican state attorneys general seeking to subvert the election and overturn the election results. The Trump campaign hired the Berkeley Research Group to investigate whether there had been voter fraud. The researchers found nothing, and the consultancy reported this to Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows on a conference call in the final days of the year, before the attack on the Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Rogers (politician)</span> American politician (born 1954)

Wendy Rogers is an American far-right Republican politician. First elected in 2020, Rogers is the Arizona State Senator representing Legislative District 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Arizona elections</span>

The 2022 Arizona elections were held in the state of Arizona on November 8, 2022, coinciding with the nationwide general election. All six executive offices were up for election, as well as a U.S. Senate seat, all of the state's U.S. House of Representatives seats, and the state legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Arizona Secretary of State election</span>

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. Primary elections were held on August 2, 2022. Democrat and former Maricopa County recorder Adrian Fontes defeated Republican representative Mark Finchem by 4.8%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States secretary of state elections</span>

The 2022 United States secretary of state elections were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the secretaries of state in twenty-seven states. These elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Fontes</span> Secretary of State of Arizona

Adrian Fontes is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023, after defeating Republican nominee Mark Finchem in 2022. Fontes previously served as the Maricopa County Recorder from 2017 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">America First Secretary of State Coalition</span> 2022 American right-wing political coalition

The America First Secretary of State Coalition was an American right-wing coalition formed to support a slate of candidates in the 2022 United States secretary of state elections who supported former president Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The coalition's president was Jim Marchant, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Secretary of State of Nevada, and was headquartered in Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Harris (Arizona politician)</span> Former member of the Arizona House of Representatives

Liz Harris is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican, she was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2023 to April 2023. Harris was elected in November 2022 from the 13th legislative district, which includes much of Chandler, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Kolodin</span> American politician

Alexander Kolodin, or Alex Kolodin is an American lawyer, politician and Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 3 in 2022.

The election denial movement in the United States is a widespread conservative belief that any United States election not resulting in a desired Republican victory has been rigged and stolen through voter fraud by Democrats. Adherents of the movement are referred to as election deniers. Voter fraud conspiracy theories have spread online and through conservative conferences, community events, and door-to-door canvassing. Since the 2020 United States presidential election, many Republican politicians have sought elective office or taken legislative steps to address what they assert is weak election integrity leading to widespread fraudulent elections, though no evidence of systemic voter fraud has come to light and voter fraud is extremely rare.

References

  1. ↑ "Financial Disclosure Statement" (PDF). Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Rep. Mark Finchem (R-AZ)". CQRC Engage. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flaherty, Joseph (March 22, 2019). "From Charlottesville to Oath Keepers, Rep. Mark Finchem Is a Fringe Lawmaker". Phoenix New Times .
  4. ↑ Cathey, Libby (May 23, 2022). "Experts warn of 'emergency' as Trump-backed election deniers could win primary races". ABC News . Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  5. ↑ Itkowitz, Colby; Gardner, Amy; Dawsey, Josh (June 15, 2022). "Nevada Republicans join GOP wave of nominating election deniers". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ Medina, Jennifer (May 5, 2022). "In Arizona, a Swing State Swings to the Far Right". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, Bill; Sherman, Amy (June 7, 2022). "A coalition of 'stop the steal' Republicans aims to take control of US elections. QAnon is helping". Politifact . Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Kelety, Josh (October 1, 2020). "Rep. Mark Finchem Worked With Anti-Government Extremists, Emails Show". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ Simon, Mallory; Sidner, Sara; Jones, Julia; Kravarik, Jason (June 3, 2021). "What happened after locally elected officials posted or openly supported QAnon conspiracy theories". CNN .
  10. 1 2 Stahl, Jeremy (August 2, 2022). "Capitol Rioter Who Compared "Cancel Culture" to the Holocaust One Step Closer to Running Arizona's Elections". Slate . Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ Parks, Miles (November 11, 2022). "Adrian Fontes is elected Arizona secretary of state, beating election denier Finchem". NPR . Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Stephenson, Hank (August 18, 2022). "'Never in a Million Years': Arizona Republicans Grapple with the Rising Fringe". Politico Magazine . Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pitzl, Mary Jo (July 13, 2022). "Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem doesn't trust elections. Now he wants to run them". The Arizona Republic .
  14. ↑ Devereaux, Brad (January 11, 2021). "Lawmaker, former Kalamazoo policeman tweets #stopthesteal from violent riot at U.S. Capitol". MLive . Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hakim, Danny (August 1, 2022). "Trump-Backed Conspiracy Theorist Vies to Take Over Arizona Elections". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Oxford, Andrew (February 25, 2021). "Despite claim, Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem does not have a fellowship at UA's law school". The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on February 10, 2022.
  17. ↑ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2014 General Election November 4, 2014" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 9. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  18. ↑ "State of Arizona Official Canvass: 2016 General Election" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Secretary of State.
  19. ↑ Hsieh, Steven; Flaherty, Joseph (January 3, 2019). "Arizona Lawmaker Lifted Teacher Code of Ethics From Far-Right Group". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  20. ↑ Trahan, Shelby (January 19, 2021). "AZ Rep. Finchem fails to comment on backlash after Holocaust comparison tweet". KOLD-TV . Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  21. ↑ Samuels, Ben (October 18, 2022). "In This Swing State, the Far Right Has Completed Its Takeover of the GOP". Haaretz . Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Mark Finchem". Arizona State Legislature. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  23. ↑ Fischer, Howard (March 31, 2021). "Rep. Finchem Starts Run For Secretary of State". KAWC-FM . Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  24. ↑ Cillizza, Chris (September 14, 2021). "Donald Trump is now backing a QAnon conspiracy theorist to run Arizona's elections". CNN . Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  25. ↑ Montellaro, Zach (August 1, 2022). "Trump-backed conspiracy theorist makes charge for chief election position in Arizona". Politico . Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  26. ↑ Blake, Aaron (November 2, 2022). "GOP's biggest election-denier secretary of state candidates lag in polls". The Washington Post.
  27. ↑ MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (October 31, 2022). "Mark Finchem has raised nearly $10,000 from Oath Keepers". Arizona Mirror .
  28. ↑ Levitt, Shannon (October 14, 2022). "Arizona's Republican candidates can't shake charges of antisemitism". Jewish News/Jewish Telegraphic Agency .
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (September 15, 2022). "Mark Finchem criticized for using antisemitic trope". Arizona Mirror . Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  30. 1 2 Barchenger, Stacey; Pitzl, Mary Jo (August 22, 2022). "After backlash to controversial endorsement, Lake changes course while Finchem and Rogers stay quiet". The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on August 23, 2022.
  31. 1 2 3 4 Anglen, Robert (September 16, 2022). "Jewish groups accuse secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem of antisemitism in campaign". The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on September 16, 2022.
  32. ↑ Small, Jim (July 29, 2022). "Mark Finchem & Wendy Rogers are 'honored' to be endorsed by Gab founder, a prominent antisemite". Arizona Mirror – via Tucson Sentinel.
  33. ↑ O'Sullivan, Kayla (October 12, 2022). "Arizona secretary of state: Mark Finchem denies election results". Cronkite News. Arizona PBS. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  34. ↑ Corasaniti, Nick (November 11, 2022). "Fontes Defeats Finchem, Vocal Election Denier, for Arizona Secretary of State". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  35. 1 2 3 McAfee, David (December 2, 2022). "Kari Lake's Counsel Sanctioned for False Claims in Election Suit". Bloomberg Law . Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  36. ↑ Pitzl, Mary (August 26, 2022). "Lake, Finchem lawsuit to ban voting machines tossed due to lack of evidence of problems". The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Judge tosses Lake, Finchem lawsuit to stop use of voting machines". KTVK and KPHO-TV . August 27, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  38. ↑ McDaniel, Michael (August 26, 2022). "Arizona GOP candidates lose bid to ban 'exploitable' voting machines". Courthouse News . Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  39. ↑ Robertson, Nick (July 14, 2023). "Kari Lake's team ordered to pay more than $122K in sanctions over Maricopa lawsuit" . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  40. ↑ Duhonik, Joe (October 16, 2023). "Ninth Circuit delivers another blow to Kari Lake's election fraud claims". Courthouse News . Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  41. ↑ Schutsky, Wayne (March 15, 2024). "Kari Lake asks Supreme Court to take up voting machines case". kjzz.org . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  42. ↑ Vakil, Caroline (April 22, 2024). "Supreme Court declines to hear Kari Lake voting machine lawsuit". The Hill . Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  43. ↑ "Judge dismisses Mark Finchem's lawsuit challenging election results". KPNX. December 16, 2022.
  44. 1 2 3 Gans, Jared (December 16, 2022). "Arizona Republican loses election lawsuit in secretary of state race". The Hill . Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  45. ↑ Mendez, David (December 16, 2022). "Arizona court strikes down GOP candidate's election challenge". NY1 . Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  46. ↑ Fischer, Howard (December 16, 2022). "Judge tosses Finchem's election challenge for lack of evidence". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  47. ↑ Cooper, Jonathan (March 6, 2023). "Finchem sanctioned over 'baseless' Arizona election suit". Associated Press . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  48. ↑ Fischer, Howard (March 6, 2023). "Election loser Mark Finchem ordered to pay attorney fees". Arizona Daily Star . Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  49. ↑ Richards, Zoë (March 7, 2023). "Election denier Mark Finchem sanctioned by Arizona judge for 'groundless' challenge of 2022 defeat". NBC News . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  50. ↑ Vlachou, Maria (March 7, 2023). "Arizona Election Denier Mike Finchem Sanctioned For 'Groundless' Lawsuit". Huffington Post . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  51. ↑ Fischer, Howard (May 27, 2023). "Kari Lake avoids legal penalties, Mark Finchem doesn't". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  52. ↑ Fischer, Howard (August 1, 2023). "Republican Mark Finchem drops appeal of 2022 loss in Arizona election". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  53. ↑ Pitzl, Mary Jo (October 16, 2022). "One will be next in line for the Governor's Office — where do Finchem and Fontes stand on abortion?". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  54. 1 2 3 Waltz, Adam (January 8, 2021). "Seven Arizonan Republican legislators face calls to ban them from the House and Senate". KNXV . Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  55. 1 2 Oxford, Andrew (February 6, 2021). "Trump campaign paid Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem $6,000 during effort to overturn election results". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  56. ↑ Swenson, Ali (September 10, 2021). "FACT FOCUS: AZ canvass report draws nonsensical conclusions". Associated Press . Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  57. 1 2 Jones, Ja'han (October 7, 2022). "Arizona candidate wants to ban mail-in voting. He uses it a lot". MSNBC . Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  58. 1 2 Sherman, Amy (October 13, 2022). "Arizona Republican said he doesn't 'care for' mail voting. He used it 28 times". PolitiFact.
  59. 1 2 Bidar, Musadiq (September 23, 2022). "Arizona GOP secretary of state nominee interviewed by Justice Dept. and House panel about Jan. 6 - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  60. ↑ Oxford, Andrew (January 7, 2021). "Among some in Arizona GOP, siege of the US Capitol was everyone's fault except Trump". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  61. ↑ Gamiño, Gabriel (January 8, 2021). "Organizations call for expulsion of several Arizona GOP lawmakers". KTAR-FM . Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  62. ↑ Siders, David (January 13, 2021). "Capitol riot fueled by deep network of GOP statehouse support". Politico . Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  63. ↑ Kaczynski, Andrew; Steck, Em (August 16, 2022). "Arizona Republican secretary of state nominee kept 'Treason Watch List' and posted about stockpiling ammunition on Pinterest". CNN.
  64. ↑ Rood, Justin; Askarinam, Leah (October 7, 2022). "Mark Finchem says Google and the 'deep state' are blocking his campaign site. The truth is simpler—and implicates his own team". Grid.news. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Mark Finchem
Mark Finchem (52484896992) (cropped).jpg
Finchem in 2022
Member of the ArizonaHouseofRepresentatives
from the 11th district
In office
January 5, 2015 –January 9, 2023