Alex Kolodin tops former state party chair in secretary of state primary race

Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin won the party’s primary for Arizona secretary of state on Tuesday, defeating former state GOP Chair Gina Swoboda and advancing to a November contest against Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes, per the Associated Press.

With 69% of the ballots counted, Kolodin captured 59.1% of the vote to Swoboda’s 40.9%.

Arizona voters spoke up decisively tonight for lawful, transparent, honest, and fair elections.

Whether you supported me or my opponent, whether you’re a McCain Independent, a Trump Republican, or a Goldwater Democrat, I want you to know that our campaign is about protecting… pic.twitter.com/Mi0HEWxukp

— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) July 22, 2026

The Scottsdale lawmaker has centered his campaign on a single argument: that he has already been doing the job.

He pointed to a string of legislative and courtroom victories as proof, including forcing the adoption of legally binding identity verification rules for early voters and compelling Fontes to release a list of more than 200,000 voters whose citizenship had not been verified.

“Transparency is the foundation of trust,” Kolodin said at a July 14 rally.

His signature achievement is the Arizona Secure Elections Act, a constitutional amendment he authored that passed the legislature in June and will appear on the November ballot.

The measure would require government-issued ID for every ballot cast, ban foreign nationals from spending money to influence Arizona elections, add a citizen-only voting requirement to the state constitution and allow voters to have their ballots tabulated at their polling location.

Swoboda conceded the race before 9 p.m.

“I got into this race to give our voters a choice. Our people have spoken. It has been an honor to serve our party, both as chair and as a candidate for Secretary of State,” she said. “I wish our party nothing but success up and down the ticket in the General Election. God Bless Arizona.”

Kolodin faces a $500K fundraising gap against incumbent Adrian Fontes

Campaign finance reports show Fontes raised more than $519,000 in the second quarter and ended June with over $1 million in cash on hand.

Kolodin raised about $73,370 during the same period and reported roughly $291,750 available.

Fontes won the office in 2022, defeating Republican Mark Finchem by more than 100,000 votes.

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