Former California Rep. T.J. Cox charged with multiple fraud schemes
August 18, 2022
Several Maricopa County Republican leaders have called on Arizona’s GOP Chair Kelli Ward to resign, slamming her for promoting election “lies” after the controversial Cyber Ninjas audit of the county’s results reaffirmed President Joe Biden‘s victory over former President Donald Trump.
Supervisor Clint Hickman urged top elected Republicans in the state, including Gov. Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and state Treasurer Kimberly Yee, to call on Ward to step down over her role in questioning the 2020 election results in Maricopa County. “She has caused a fracture in our party. She has operated outside of it for the purpose of helping herself,” Hickman said in an interview with KTAR News on Friday.
Ward played a key role in building momentum for the audit of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots. “I think we’re going to get pretty crappy results from whatever they do,” Ward said in January in response to an election audit that the county approved itself.
Supervisor Bill Gates, another Republican, echoed Hickman’s words, saying the party “must choose a new direction rooted in truth & good politics.” “I stand w/ my colleague here calling for @kelliwardaz’s resignation,” Gates wrote in a tweet. “The @AZGOP’s done nothing but push lies about our electoral system, ignore down ballot races, & lose federal & state elections under her leadership.” Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes statewide and by 45,109 votes in Maricopa County in 2020, according to the canvasses following the election.
ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH
MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: NEWSWEEK