A state senator who was charged in Arizona’s 2020 election subversion case and a former state representative who was kicked out of office has been chosen to serve on the Grand Canyon State’s Republican National Committee.
Jake Hoffman, a state senator, and Liz Harris, a former state representative, were chosen to their new jobs at the Arizona GOP convention over the weekend.
Hoffman was one of 11 people recently charged in Arizona with participating in the so-called “fake electors scheme” to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.
Harris was removed from the GOP-controlled state House in April 2023 for ethics violations when she allowed an insurance agent to speak in public before lawmakers. The agent made false claims against public officials, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Local news sources say Harris also spread the QAnon conspiracy theory and wild ideas about the 2020 and 2022 elections.
CNN has asked the Arizona Republican Party and the RNC for their thoughts.
“I feel incredibly grateful and honored to have been chosen as the next RNC National Committeeman for Arizona!” Hoffman wrote on social media on Saturday.
Harris said on social media on Monday that her main goal would be to “win elections with a strong emphasis on uniting” the Republican Party “through real, effective election reform!”
Just a few days ago, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Trump supporters for trying to rig the 2020 election. This is why Hoffman was chosen.
It was reported by CNN that Hoffman sent a two-page letter to Vice President Mike Pence on January 5, 2021, asking him to make sure that the members of the state legislature, not the people who vote, choose Arizona’s voters.
Hoffman wrote at the time, “It is with great respect that I respectfully ask that you delay the certification of election results for Arizona during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. This is so that you can get clarification from the Arizona state legislature as to which slate of electors is proper and accurate.”
During interviews, Hoffman said over and over that “we don’t have certainty in the outcome of our election” and that Democrat electors should be fought if they were sent.
Hoffman said in a statement that he was “innocent of any crime” after hearing that he had been charged last week. He also said, “I will vigorously defend myself, and I look forward to the day when I am vindicated of this disgusting political persecution by the judicial process.”
It was also criticized by the Arizona Republican Party, which said it was a “blatant and unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power.”
A person familiar with the investigation said that Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who is now one of Trump’s closest advisors, Mark Meadows, who used to be White House chief of staff, and Rudy Giuliani were also charged.
Even though Trump is not charged in Arizona, the details of the accusation make it seem like he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”
During its convention over the weekend, the Arizona GOP also passed a motion criticizing Pence and Nikki Haley for “their dereliction of duty in refusing to support President Donald J. Trump and by default supporting the Democrats.”
Pence dropped out of the Republican presidential primary in the fall. Last month, he said that he “cannot in good conscience” support Trump, who is expected to be the GOP candidate. After Super Tuesday in March, Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential run without endorsing the former president. Instead, she told him to “earn” the support of people who voted for her in the primary.
