Alexander Kolodin, who tried to overturn Arizona election results, wins GOP nod for secretary of state - NBC News

Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin won the GOP primary for Arizona secretary of state, defeating former state Republican Party chair Gina Swoboda, according to NBC News projections on July 21, 2026.
Kolodin will face Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes in the November general election, in a contest to become the chief election officer of a key battleground state ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign.
Kolodin has repeatedly questioned past election results and led several lawsuits attempting to overturn Arizona's 2020 and 2022 outcomes, drawing rebukes from judges and the state bar association.
He is backed by the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA and several Arizona GOP members of Congress, and argues voters want more transparency and additional poll observers, saying they aren't getting that from Fontes.
Fontes, who formerly ran elections in Maricopa County, has spoken out against efforts by President Donald Trump and allies to cast doubt on election results, and defeated a Trump-endorsed opponent in 2022.
Fontes oversaw Arizona's 2024 election, in which Trump carried the state and won a second term as president after narrowly losing Arizona in 2020; he is now seeking a second term of his own.