Adrian Fontes, Alex Kolodin meet for final secretary of state debate before election

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Republican challenger Alexander Kolodin get one last shot at each other Wednesday night, a week before early ballots go out ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.

The Clean Elections Commission debate is the final face-off in a race for the office that will certify Arizona’s 2028 presidential election results. It comes as Kolodin tries to close a gap in the polling and in fundraising.

You can watch it here on the KTAR News 92.3 FM YouTube livestream. Listen to the debate at 7 p.m. on KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Noble Predictive Insights’ August survey, its most recent, had Fontes ahead 41% to 35% among likely voters, with 20% undecided.

Their first meeting, on Arizona PBS on Aug. 31, quickly turned personal.

Asked whether Arizona elections are safe and secure, Fontes answered, “Absolutely.”

Kolodin sidestepped the question three times, calling Fontes “a radical” who is “far outside the mainstream.”

Fontes called Kolodin, who worked on the failed 2020 “kraken” lawsuit, “the arsonist who causes the fire.”

Expect Prop 144 to come up again.

The Kolodin-written ballot measure would require government-issued ID for every voter, including those who vote by mail. Fontes warns it would gut mail-in voting, which Kolodin disputes.

Fontes, a Democrat seeking a second term as the state’s top elections official, defends the current system.

His campaign points to his defense of mail-in voting, which more than 80% of Arizonans use, and his court win against the Trump administration over demands for voters’ personal data.

Who is Alex Kolodin?

Kolodin, a state representative from the Scottsdale area, has practiced election law for about 15 years. He beat former Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda in the July primary.

President Donald Trump endorsed him days later.

“He is tough, smart, and a proven winner,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Kolodin has built his campaign around his history of fighting Fontes in court.

“I have beat Adrian Fontes in court, and I will beat him on the ballot in November,” he said during a primary debate hosted by the Yavapai County Republican Party.

In 2020, Kolodin sued Fontes, then Maricopa County recorder, over ballot instructions that told voters they could cross out mistakes instead of requesting a new ballot. The Arizona Supreme Court sided with Kolodin and blocked the instructions.

He promises to harden election systems and deliver faster, “Florida-style” results.

Asked on a podcast produced by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club what he’d do on his first day in office, Kolodin said: “Clean up the voter rolls.”

Kolodin’s legal record at center of attacks

Fontes called Kolodin “the architect” of “the big lie” in Arizona.

Kolodin was the local attorney in the failed “kraken” lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results. In 2023, the State Bar of Arizona admonished him and placed him on 18 months’ probation over that case and other lawsuits.

Kolodin has called the secretary of state’s job the most important on any ballot, saying in the primary debate that “the road to the White House runs through the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.”

Who is Adrian Fontes?

Fontes first ran for office in 2016, challenging longtime Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell after hourslong lines at that year’s presidential preference election. He won narrowly, becoming the first Democrat to hold the job in decades.

As recorder, he introduced vote centers, which let voters cast ballots at any location in the county, and expanded early voting.

In 2021, he testified before Congress about threats and harassment aimed at election workers.

In 2022, he defeated Republican Mark Finchem by about 120,000 votes to become secretary of state.

Fontes holds big money lead

Fontes has a wide fundraising lead, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

He raised more than $519,000 from April through June and had more than $1 million in the bank.

Kolodin raised about $73,000 over the same period and had about $292,000 on hand.

Much of Kolodin’s money has come from his own pocket. As of last fall, he had loaned his campaign nearly $195,000. His donors include fellow Republican state Reps. Laurin Hendrix and Rachel Keshel and Fountain Hills Mayor Gerry Friedel.

Fontes relies mostly on individual donors, most from Arizona, along with labor unions such as United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99, Iron Workers Local 75 and the Teamsters.

He also has support from the Salt River Valley Water Users Association and a PAC led by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.

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