The former Arizona governor, once Trump’s surrogate in swing states, is now speaking out in defense of the state’s elections as electoral denialism continues to dominate Republican politics.
Jan Brewer, a Republican governor from 2009 to 2015, signed a notorious anti-immigration law that reverberated through state politics and affected the state’s reputation for years. Before becoming governor, she served as secretary of state overseeing elections.
She is anything but centrist, although Rino, as her people now call her, is a Republican in name only. She said she has had enough of the litany of election lies that have come from her party in recent years, though she was also quick to point out that Democrats have sowed election doubts in the past.
In recent weeks, she wrote an op-ed in The Arizona Republic, the state’s largest daily newspaper, calling on Republicans to stop attacking the election, writing that she hoped to “bring us back from the brink of election denial and back to On the right track.” Focus on real policy so we can win elections with conservative ideas.”
She joined RightCount and the Democracy Defense Project, two groups that joined other Republicans and people across the political spectrum to publicly defend the election. She also supported Republican primary candidates in Maricopa County who withstood intense pressure from within their party to overturn the 2020 election results.
“You have to stand up and defend the integrity of our electoral system because that’s what unites us,” she told the Guardian. “It’s really important that people understand this.”
Arizona remains a hotbed of electoral denialism, with major Republican primary candidates insisting that their 2022 election was stolen and Trump’s was stolen from in 2020. . Groups like Arizona-based Turning Point USA have fueled distrust in the election.
Brewer said the election situation in Arizona was “out of control.”
“I just hope we can bring our country back together, preserve our democracy, save our Republican Party, because obviously this is destroying it,” she said. “If they want Republicans to be elected, then they have to accept that that happens through elections. We have to assure them, and they have to realize, that our elections are fair, or Republicans are not going to be elected.
Why are you saying it now?
As far as I’m concerned, we hear these conspiracy theories, about the election being stolen, that it’s false, that terrible things are happening at the polls, and it just keeps going on. As a former elections director, I know the procedures in place to prevent this. We wrote a handbook on electoral procedures. we did [logic and accuracy] test. It’s just destroying our democracy. I thought, okay, somebody needs to step up. Everyone else stood up too, but I stood up and said a few words, and suddenly everyone listened. These false claims, widespread voter fraud, absolutely erode our elections and undermine our democracy.
To be clear, do you think the 2020 election was stolen?
No.
Are you confident about the current situation in Arizona?
There were always hiccups, but never to the extent of changing election numbers. I mean, we’ve seen it over and over again, but you’re dealing with human error, sometimes you’re dealing with equipment error, but usually it’s corrected immediately and you can deal with it.
Why do you think doubting the election results has become a sticking point, especially for Republicans in recent years? Why is it still lingering?
Well, I guess because they want to win. They want to be the winner, so if they can’t win the election, then they want to say the election was stolen from them. I don’t know, you have to ask why they do it. I just believe we just need to defend our electoral system, simple as that, from distrust. We need to speak up, and our politicians need to speak out, and whether you’re on the left or the right, spreading this distrust and suspicion is bad – it’s not good for us, it’s not good for the people out there campaigning, it’s not good for America There are benefits. This is certainly not conducive to free, fair and democratic elections.
Why do you think election denialism is so strong in Arizona? Is it just because the Republican Party has been failing in recent years?
I wish I could tell you. I have no idea. But, things have gotten out of control. I do not know why. It goes back a long way, and on both sides. Been on both sides. Don’t just blame the Republicans, but that’s exactly who is doing this right now because we lost the presidency. We had some tight races in Arizona where some losers claimed they had it stolen and they went through all these court cases and they didn’t win and they had no proof. Apparently, they don’t trust our justice system either.
So have you ever seen this level of election doubt? forward?
No, no, never, no.
Is that why you’re speaking out now? Have you just reached fever pitch?
I think so. I hope more people will speak out. This is very important. I mean, none of the cases and accusations were made. Yes, there was a machine failure or two. It was fixed. Maybe there was something wrong with the paper size, but it didn’t change the outcome of the election. This is not enough. So you have to be realistic. They make stuff up. People here, some of them want to get voter ID cards at the polls. Well, we have voter ID cards at the polls. I implemented this when I was Secretary of State through the Help America Vote Act. As a result, there is a lot of misinformation and misleading claims out there.
These claims are simply outrageous. Abuse by some elected officials, such as the Board of Supervisors, county recorders, and election workers at polling places, is dire. Why would anyone want to serve?
What role do you think Trump plays in this?? Isn’t this a rejection of electoralism from the top?
Unfortunately, he planted the seeds of a stolen election. I don’t agree with him. I thought he lost.
Have you talked to him about this?
No.
What can be done to move forward? How do we, as a society, move beyond this?
The only thing I know is that we need people to stand up and talk about this and move forward. This is destroying the Republican Party right now. It’s damaging our elections, and if we don’t stop it, the result is people won’t vote. Who gets hurt if they don’t vote? This will hurt the Republican Party. We need every vote we get at the polls.
For those who believe in early voting, a system in which they can vote early and trust that their vote will be counted. I mean, when I was in the Legislature, I wasn’t a big supporter of when they wanted to vote early, I thought it was important that we go to the polls on Election Day. But as we grow older and wiser, and the country develops, people have more obligations and responsibilities, and people get sick and they can’t get there. We lead the nation in early voting.
Will you vote for Trump again this year?
He is our nominee.
Is this for sure?
Yes.
How do you reconcile this??
He did a lot of good things as president. I just hope that if he wins, it won’t happen again. Of course, if he wins, then I think they’ll think the election is OK.
Does it look like Arizona?are there Republicans who agree with you that they are just afraid of the wrath of other Republicans?
I do know this because they talk to me. They are afraid. You don’t hear people say after they win that this was a rigged election. Look at the people who say the presidential election was rigged, but those who serve in the Legislature, I guess your election is fine? This makes no sense at all.
Are you worried about any repercussions for the Republican Party in Arizona?
I’ve been around for a long time. I have a lot of friends. I got some interesting text messages and stuff like that [like] “Our friendship goes back a long way and I’m sorry we disagree, but I think we can do it in a civilized way” and try to convince people to at least accept some of your points. If we continue to have a dialogue and can talk to each other, if they’re willing to listen and I’m willing to listen, maybe we can overcome all of this.
