Former Arizona Rep. Shawnna Bolick appointed to fill Senate seat vacated by Steve Kaiser
Jul 19, 2023, 11:03 AM
Republican Shawnna Bolick is returning to the Arizona Legislature after the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed her to fill a vacant Senate seat. (Arizona Legislature and KTAR News Photos)
(Arizona Legislature and KTAR News Photos)
PHOENIX – Republican Shawnna Bolick is returning to the Arizona Legislature after the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed her to replace former Sen. Steve Kaiser on Wednesday.
Under state law, the supervisors had to choose a replacement from among three candidates selected by the vacated district’s precinct committeemen. The nominees had to be from the same party as the legislator being replaced.
District 2 precinct committeemen submitted Bolick, Josh Barnett and Paul Carver to the board. The county conducted interviews with the candidates and background checks before choosing Bolick to fill the north Phoenix district’s Senate seat.
“I very much look forward to getting to work for the people in Arizona as I demonstrated in my previous tenure in the House. I will always be one of the strongest advocates for freedom and liberty,” Bolick said on social media.
Bolick ran for statewide office after serving in House
Bolick, who is married to Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, previously served two terms in the state House. She ran for secretary of state in 2022, finishing third in the Republican primary.
RELATED STORIES
Her name came up in 2022 reporting about efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
She reportedly was among the Arizona lawmakers who received letters from Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, conservative political activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, urging them to choose their own slate of presidential electors following the 2020 election.
Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020, becoming the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.
The next year, Bolick introduced a bill that would have given the Legislature the authority to reject the presidential electors who were certified by the Arizona secretary of state.
Then-House Speaker Rusty Bowers essentially killed the legislation before it ever came to a vote.
Why did Steve Kaiser resign from Arizona Senate
Kaiser submitted his resignation on June 14, less than six months into his first term in the Senate.
No reason for the resignation was given, but Dennis Welch of AZFamily reported that Kaiser was leaving to focus on an organization he created to promote Republican candidates and policies in the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
