Arizona Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in AZ
Scandal Categories
Arizona Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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Rick RenziFmr. U.S. Representative10/28/13Strongarmed leaders of a copper mining company into purchasing a large tract of land from a business associate who owed him money in exchange for him sponsoring legislation that would be favorable to the company, even once explicitly telling those involved "no Sandlin Property, no bill" and then failed to pay taxes on the $733,000 he received from the sale once the deal went through2/22/08Funneled $400k in insurance premiums from a company he owned to his congressional campaign and then later transferred ownership of the company to his wifeAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Trent FranksFmr. U.S. Representative12/08/17Pressured a female aide to take $5 million to carry his child as a surrogate mother and strongly implied he wanted to impregnate her through intercourse since he was against invitro fertilizationAccording to a firsthand account from former aide and reported on by the Associated Press
Arizona Republican Executive Branch Scandals
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11/17/24Defamed AZ County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) by baselessly accusing him of adding over 300,000 fraudulent ballots to Maricopa County's vote count in order to steal the election from her and then later admitted in court that she had no defense against his lawsuit and forfeited her right to a trialAccording to a civil lawsuit filed by the individual she defamed1/24/24Was accused of deceptively editing a leaked recording of a private conversation where AZ Republican Party Chair Jeff DeWitt appeared to offer her a bribe to drop out of the 2024 U.S. Senate race but which he says was "selectively edited" by Lake in order to get him fired from party leadershipAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
Arizona Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Frank AntenoriFmr. State Senator [R-AZ]7/21/16Unlawfully entered and hunted wild game on the grounds of a restricted military base in southern ArizonaAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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2/22/18Engaged in an online affair with a Republican digital media coordinator and received a topless photograph of her while also being a married pastor who publicly professed to be a "leader of virtue"According to an exclusive report by AZ Central
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Peggy JuddFmr. State RepresentativeMAGA Enthusiast11/29/23Illegally delayed certifying her county's 2022 midterm election results for weeks by citing unfounded and baseless allegations of fraud and only allowed the certification to go through after a judge ordered her toAccording to charging documents filed by state officials
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David StringerFmr. State Representative3/30/19Paid two teenage boys he met in a park $10 each to perform oral sex on them and then had them perform oral sex on himHad oral and penetrative sex with an underage boy as young as 13-years-old on ten separate occasions and got caught when the boy's father found out and reported him to the policeAccording to an exclusive report by the Arizona Republic
Arizona Republican City Official Scandals
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Randy Gene KaufmanFmr. School Board Member Candidate10/18/22Pleasured himself watching videos in his truck within view of a busy road used by parents to pick up children from a nearby preschool after having spewed propaganda about wanting to protect childrenAccording to an arrest report filed by local police
Other Arizona Republican Scandals
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Tom CrosbyCounty Commissioner [R-AZ]11/29/23Delayed certifying the results of his county's 2022 midterm election by citing baseless allegations of supposed voter fraudAccording to charging documents filed by state officials
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Joe ArpaioFmr. Sheriff [R-AZ]7/31/17Blatantly disregarded a new law that prevented the targeting of people of Latino descent showing complete disdain for "law and order" while also having had espoused excessive over-the-top rhetoric that claimed the opposite and was found guilty of criminal contempt of courtHe was convicted of criminal contempt but was pardoned by Donald Trump before being sentenced