By Staff Reporter |
GOP State Representative Austin Smith (LD29) dropped out of his reelection race abruptly on Thursday, days after allegations surfaced that he had forged petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.
In a lengthy press release announcing his resignation, Smith downplayed the allegations — outlined in a lawsuit against him — as an unsubstantiated, coordinated attack by Democrats.
Smith is member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, and the senior director of Turning Point Action. Smith said that the plaintiffs — Democratic Party officials — were falsely accusing him of forging the signatures of Democrats on his petition sheets. Such an act of forgery would be pointless, given that signatures from Democratic voters wouldn’t count for a Republican primary.
Some questioned whether the two Democrats leading the lawsuit had signed the petition themselves with the intent of accusing Smith of election fraud.
Rather than pay to fight the lawsuit and any criminal investigations that may arise, Smith said that he would protect his family financially and drop out of the race.
Smith pledged to run for office again in the future, but would rely on the online signature system rather than paper ballots.
“I feel terrible for those who are disappointed in this outcome or in me for not fighting it until the end,” said Smith. “I hope you’ll understand that my decisions are about more than just me.”
Those found guilty of petition forgery are disqualified immediately and may not run for public office for five years.
Smith also announced that another man had agreed to run in his stead as a write-in candidate for the Republican primary: James Taylor.
Taylor lives in Litchfield Park and has been heavily involved in the LD29 GOP.
One Democratic official behind the lawsuit, James “Jim” Ashurst, serves on the LD29 Democrats board as the sergeant at arms.
The Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC), a project of the Arizona Democratic Party, first announced the lawsuit against Smith on Monday, the day the lawsuit was filed.
The ADLCC — co-founded by Governor Katie Hobbs in 2012 when she was in the state legislature and Republicans held a supermajority — then fundraised off of the lawsuit announcement.
The Republican Party of Arizona (AZGOP) issued a statement lamenting Smith’s resignation, but expressing confidence in Taylor’s abilities to take over. The AZGOP didn’t address Smith’s alleged election fraud.
“We hate to lose an effective legislator like Austin Smith, but I’m glad James Taylor is on the team,” said the AZGOP. “He will be an excellent candidate for LD29 and the local, county, and state parties will do all we can to help. Austin will continue to do great things for Arizona.”
State Representative Rachel Jones defended Smith as a victim of Democratic “target[ing] and sabotag[e].” Jones cautioned against Republicans speaking ill of Smith.
“So before you self-righteous Republicans join the left to crucify him, maybe try to remember that those of us who fight the hardest for you have the biggest targets on our backs,” said Jones.
Not all Republican leaders were as supportive of Smith.
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman called for Smith to resign.
“This is a man who has lied to the people of Legislative District 29 and the entire state about our election operations for at least three years,” said Hickman. “He is now accused of lying about the signatures he personally collected to get on the ballot again.”
Turning Point Action has yet to release a statement on the allegations against Smith or his dropping out of the race.
Instead, the organization has focused on its hire of “ballot chasers” in Arizona and other states. These “ballot chasers” go door-to-door in battleground states contacting Republican voters who have received their mail-in ballots, and encouraging those voters to mark their ballots and make a plan to vote.
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