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Analysis
Republican colleagues of Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem (R) have said he’s among the “dumbest” people in the state house, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous.
Finchem attended the Capitol riot, belongs to the Oath Keepers, and has repeatedly posted QAnon content.
Now he wants to run Arizona’s elections—which is pretty frightening since he won’t stop lying about the 2020 presidential election. The Washington Post editorial board calls the state’s Republican ticket, which includes Finchem and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a dangerous threat to democracy.
Finchem even lies about his voting record. This summer, he said he consistently votes in person. Fourth Estate 48 subsequently reported that Finchem actually voted by mail in 28 of the last 30 elections.
Finchem’s ties to extremism run deep. He once proposed an ethical code for teachers lifted from Islamophobe David Horowitz. Media Matters reports that he’s repeatedly posted QAnon content, attended a QAnon influencer’s conference, and babbled about pedophiles in government.
He is so delusional (or dishonest) that he called the deadly Unite the Right Rally a “deep state psyop.”
Many Arizona Republicans were stunned Finchem won the nomination for Secretary of State. One subsequently described him as among “the dumbest” members of the state house.
Finchem, a former cop, doesn’t seem to know much about the law or care to learn. He once proposed legislation to allow Arizona to ignore federal law—which is definitely how that works.
Online, you can find Finchem on Gab, Rumble, Telegram, Gettr, Truth Social,Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
After the Capitol riot, Finchem quietly deleted his old Twitter account, where he’d promoted the Stop the Steal rally and posted photos outside the Capitol minutes before the mob infiltrated it.
Nuking his old Twitter might be the smartest thing Finchem has ever done.
Why it matters
Journalist Dillon Rosenblatt, who writes Fourth Estate 48 and has reported on him for years, told the Daily Dot that Finchem has been compared to the McDonald’s mustachioed nugget toy.
“I’m pretty certain the inanimate object understands Arizona election law more than the man hoping to oversee elections in the state,” Rosenblatt said.
That may be true, but Finchem still has a solid chance of winning in November.