Elijah Norton plans to sue Kimberly Yee, claims false rumors sparked costly primary

Former Republican treasurer nominee Elijah Norton says he plans to sue outgoing Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee for defamation, accusing her of spreading false rumors about his personal life that he says sparked a costly primary challenge.

Norton told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday that he wants the $2.6 million his campaign spent to beat Katherine Haley in the July GOP primary.

“There would not have been a primary election had Kimberly Yee not done this,” Norton said.

Norton alleges Yee turned on him after he declined to contribute to a political action committee she supported in 2020. He claims she later told prominent Republicans that he had a boyfriend and was in a relationship with his married male assistant, and that he had tried to bribe her for an endorsement and threatened her with violence.

Norton denies all of it.

Elijah Norton says not even George Washington could have won his race

Norton said he isn’t blaming Yee for his loss to Democrat Nick Mansour in the general election.

“I think it was a bad national environment,” Norton said. “George Washington, I don’t think, could have won the treasurer’s race in the general election. But I’m not talking about the general election in this. I’m talking about the primary.”

It’s not the first time Norton has gone to court over attacks on his personal life.

He sued U.S. Rep. David Schweikert and his allies after the 2022 congressional primary over campaign materials implying Norton was gay. Those cases settled, and a Schweikert-aligned consultant publicly apologized and acknowledged the attacks were false.

“Just talking about smut and people’s sex lives and all this stuff should not be part of the conversation,” Norton said Wednesday. “For her to just regurgitate this recklessly, she needs to be held accountable.”

Yee, who was term-limited as treasurer, lost her bid for superintendent of public instruction last week to Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz.

KTAR News reporter Heidi Hommel contributed to this report.

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