Alexander Kolodin, who tried to overturn Arizona election results, wins GOP nod for secretary of state

Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin will face Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, in November’s general election, NBC News projects, after he won the GOP primary. Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Kolodin won the Republican nomination over former state GOP chair Gina Swoboda. Kolodin, who has frequently questioned the results of past elections in interviews, led several lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections in Arizona, earning rebukes from judges and the state bar association. Kolodin is backed by the conservative nonprofit group Turning Point USA and several Arizona GOP members of Congress.

Now, he’s running to be the chief election officer in a battleground state during the 2028 presidential campaign. Part of the role of secretary of state in Arizona is overseeing state elections. The office’s duties include working to certify “voting devices, election results, candidates and measures to the ballot, as well as the results of statewide elections,” according to the secretary of state’s website.

In a joint PBS interview featuring the two candidates, Kolodin said Arizona voters are looking for more transparency and openness in their elections. “They are not getting that from Adrian Fontes; they will get that from me,” Kolodin said. “I think voters in this primary and across this state have serious concerns with the way their elections are being administered,” he said.

Kolodin also said people in the state can never be confident in their elections without more observers at polling stations. Fontes, who previously ran elections in Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest county, has been outspoken about President Donald Trump and allies’ efforts to cast doubt on election results in Arizona and elsewhere. He defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican opponent in 2022 and is seeking a second term.

Fontes administered the election in Arizona in 2024 , when Trump carried the state and won his second term as president. Trump narrowly lost Arizona in 2020.