Donald Trump endorses Rusty Bowers’ foe in Arizona state Senate race

PHOENIX – About a week after Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers testified for the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump endorsed Bowers’ opponent in the upcoming election.

Trump called Bowers a “hack” and took a shot at Gov. Doug Ducey while announcing his support of David Farnsworth for the state Senate seat from District 10.

“David Farnsworth will get rid of the stench of Rusty Bowers and his crew of RINOs who are systematically destroying everything that Arizona stands for,” Trump wrote. “He is a puppet of Governor Doug Ducey, a man who was totally afraid to act on so many important issues.”

Bowers and Farnsworth, a former state senator, are the only Republican primary candidates in the Mesa-based district, and there are no Democrats seeking the seat. Nick Fierro is running as an independent.

Trump alluded to his usual litany of unfounded voter fraud accusations, a major issue during the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee hearings.

Bowers testified on June 21 that Trump’s team admitted they did not have evidence of election fraud but pressured him to take action to overturn Arizona’s results.

He noted one meeting where Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani told him, “We have a lot of theories we just don’t have the evidence.”

In May, Bowers honored with a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for standing up to Republican pressure to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona.

Trump has weighed in on multiple Arizona races, including backing Kari Lake for governor and Blake Masters for U.S. Senate.

The primary is Aug. 2, with early voting starting July 6. The general election is Nov. 8.

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