The operative whose political action committee (PAC) received $27 million from fallen crypto giant FTX also received over $1 million from committees for Senator Mark Kelly and governor-elect Katie Hobbs.
The operative, Dacey Montoya, also served as the treasurer for these committees. Montoya has been behind numerous other political committees and PACs in Arizona and across at least 16 other states. Usually, those committees also pay her consulting firm, The Money Wheel (TMW).
Montoya serves as the treasurer for the Mark Kelly Victory Fund and Mark Kelly For Senate. TMW received over $832,000 from the two committees over the past two years.
Katie Hobbs’ secretary of state and gubernatorial committees paid TMW about $188,500 over the past four years, with the greatest payouts occurring over the last year. Although Montoya wasn’t listed as the treasurer for either of Hobbs’ campaigns, her firm’s email was listed in the contact information.
That combined $1 million doesn’t include payouts from other political action committees (PACs) and political candidates. (Note: AZ Free News discovered that Montoya’s PACs didn’t always file timely reports, so funds like expenditures, income, and TMW funding may be underreported).
Arizona-based PACs or campaign committees that paid TMW: Outlaw Dirty Money, $61,900; Arizona Pipe Trades 469, $54,000; Invest in Phx, $10,700; Rural Arizonans For Accountability, $10,500; Arizonans For a Just Democracy, $5,500; No On Proposition 126 Committee, $1,200; Solutions for Arizona, $500.
Arizona-based PACs that Montoya ran, and how much they paid TMW: Invest in Education, $504,400; Protect Our Future PAC, $134,500; Way to Lead PAC, $67,800; Moms Fed Up, $52,000; Way to Lead State Power Committee, $49,600; Invest in Education Committee, $40,700; Arizonans For Fair Elections, $40,000; Arizona Families First, $38,900; Change for Arizona 2024 PAC, $31,000; Arizonans For Fair Lending, $27,000; Arizona Future Fund, $25,000; Invest in Arizona, $25,000; Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, $16,000; Families United For Freedom, $15,000; Opportunity For Tomorrow, $11,000; Lead the Way 2022, $9,800; Not Our Faith, $9,200; Liftoff PAC, $3,500; E Pluribus PAC, $9,100; Win the West 2020, $3,100; Win Blue 2020, $2,600; Restore Hope, $2,500; Arizona Washington Victory Fund, $1,800; Arizona Maine Victory Fund, $1,800; Arizona New Jersey Victory Fund, $1,800; Kelly, Cisneros, Rouda, Smith Victory Fund, $1,700; Yes For Phx, $1,400; Saguaro Victory Fund, $1,100; and Arizona New Mexico Victory Fund, $800.
Political candidates for whom Montoya served as treasurer, and how much they paid TMW: Mayor Kate Gallego, $76,300; Reginald Bolding, $51,800; and Jevin Hodge, $42,000.
Political candidates whose campaigns paid TMW: Kirsten Engel, $46,900; Judy Stahl, $11,500; Ann Kirkpatrick, $118,500; and Heather Ross, $36,000.
At minimum, Montoya’s firm has made over $2.7 million over the past few years through Arizona political candidates, committees, and PACs.
Montoya also founded and ran an influential PAC that didn’t pay TMW: Will of the People Arizona, a PAC dedicated to defeating Propositions 128, 129, and 132. In their tweets, the PAC tags multiple progressive organizations in their effort, including Pro-Choice Arizona, LUCHA Arizona, Mass Liberation Arizona, Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, Poder in Action, CASE, AZ Coalition 4 Change, Healthcare Rising Arizona, All Voting is Local – AZ, ACLU of Arizona, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
The PAC identified The Arizona Republic as an endorser of their efforts.
Prop 128, allowing the state legislature to amend, divert funds from, or supersede an initiative or referendum found to contain illegal or unconstitutional language, failed; Prop 129, limiting ballot initiatives to a single subject, succeeded; and Prop 132, requiring initiatives and referendums seeking a tax change to receive at least 60 percent of votes, succeeded.
As AZ Free News reported in October, outside funding accounted for 99 percent of the PACs funds. However, the PAC claims on its website that outside funds only amount to 20 percent, and their mailers claimed that number was 43 percent.
The PAC received over $2.1 million from the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers (SEIU-UHW): the California union that largely financed the dark money-fueled Predatory Debt Collection Act, Proposition 209, which voters just approved. Prop 209 essentially makes all debt collection futile. That PAC also received $250,000 from the National Education Association (NEA); nearly $258,600 from the Fairness Project, established by SEIU-UHW; $60,000 from Every Single Vote; and over $51,000 from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC). Nearly all of these funds derive from organizations dedicated to influencing the outcome of state-level ballot referendums in favor of progressive policy.
Will of the People Arizona spent over $1.6 million on communications like ads and mailers, and over $66,500 on polling and consulting.
Montoya also runs one of the most powerful leftist dark money organizations: Opportunity Arizona, which receives much of its funding from the Arabella Advisors’ Hopewell Fund.
As of this report, AZ Free News uncovered Montoya’s influence as campaign committee or PAC treasurer, or TMW payee, in at least 16 other states: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Monday, the remaining outstanding ballots were counted, totaling nearly 2.6 million votes cast. Next Monday is the deadline for counties to canvass and submit results to the secretary of state’s office.
An automatic recount will occur for the attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and state representative for District 13 races. The recount will begin after the state certifies the election on December 5.
The recount process will run through most of December, and unlike results after election day, results must stay sealed until the end of the recount when they are provided in court!👩⚖️#TrustedInfo2022
In the attorney general race, Kris Mayes (D) led by 510 votes over Abraham Hamadeh (R) — a .02 percent difference, well within the .5 percent required. Both Mayes and Hamadeh expressed confidence that the recount would pan out in their favor.
Hamadeh pinpointed Maricopa County’s Election Day issues as the reason for his belief that the vote counts would flip in his favor.
We’re not done fighting and we are optimistic the recount will further expose the gross incompetence and mismanagement by Maricopa County officials that disenfranchised and silenced the voices of so many Arizona voters.
In the superintendent’s race, Tom Horne (R) overcame incumbent Kathy Hoffman (D) narrowly with 50 to 49 percent of the vote, or 8,968 votes. That’s a margin of nearly .36 percent, which triggers the automatic recount. Hoffman conceded the race last week.
After a hard-fought race, we came up short. I want to thank my supporters, volunteers, and staff who stood by me during this election. And I especially want to thank my family for all of their love and support.
In the District 13 race, State Representative Jennifer Pawlik (D) is likely to secure one of the seats with 35 percent of the vote, compared to the other two contenders’ respective 32 percent. The automatic recount will likely determine which of the two Republican candidates, Liz Harris or Julie Willoughby, will earn the second seat. Harris leads by 270 votes: nearly .31 percent.
A recount doesn’t look to be in the cards for the much-contested governor’s race. Katie Hobbs (D) ended with a lead of 17,116 over Kari Lake (R): an advantage of nearly .67 percent. That’s outside the margin needed for an automatic recount.
Lake is fundraising currently to file a lawsuit. She has refused to concede the race, citing Maricopa County’s Election Day issues such as faulty ballot printer settings resulting in widespread tabulator failures. The attorney general’s office is probing the county’s conduct for potential violation of state law.
In the secretary of state race, Adrian Fontes (D) secured 52 percent of the vote compared to Mark Finchem (R): a margin of 120,207 votes. Incumbent Kimberly Yee (R) fended her seat as state treasurer with nearly 56 percent of the vote over Martín Quezada (D): a margin of 283,099 votes.
Paul Marsh (R) ran uncontested as state mine inspector. Kevin Thompson (R) and Nicholas Myers (R) were elected to the two corporation commissioner seats, ousting incumbent Sandra Kennedy (D) and Lauren Kuby (D).
At the federal level, incumbent Senator Mark Kelly (D) beat Blake Masters (R) by a 125,718 vote margin: 51 to 46 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Representatives David Schweikert (R) and Andy Biggs (R) fended off their respective challenges from Jevin Hodge (D) and Javier Garcia Ramos in the District 1 and 5 races. Schweikert pulled a 3,195 vote lead (50 to 49 percent), while Biggs pulled 62,221 more votes (56 to 37 percent).
Eli Crane (R) pulled off an upset in the District 2 race, earning 25,019 more votes than incumbent Tom O’Halleran (D): nearly 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent.
Democratic incumbent Representatives Ruben Gallego, Greg Stanton, and Raúl Grijalva fended off their respective challenges from Republicans Jeff Nelson Zink, Kelly Cooper, and Luis Pozzolo in the District 3, 4, and 7 races. Gallego led by 76,124 votes (77 to 23 percent), Stanton led by 32,420 votes (56 to 44 percent), and Grijalva led by 56,974 votes (64 to 35 percent).
Juan Ciscomani (R) prevailed over Kirsten Engel (D) in the District 6 race, earning 5,232 more votes: 50 to 49 percent of the vote.
Republican incumbent Representatives Debbie Lesko and Paul Gosar were unchallenged in their District 8 and 9 races.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The most highly-contested races tightened overnight after Election Day votes were counted, leaving a substantial number of early ballots left to process.
In eight of these 13 races, Democrats lead Republicans. Total ballots processed numbered over 1.8 million, or 44 percent of total registered voters (over 4.1 million). Voter turnout in the 2018 midterms was over 2.4 million ballots cast (nearly 65 percent of the 3.7 million total registered voters).
In the Senate race, incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly leads Republican Blake Masters by nearly 90,000 votes, 51 to 46 percent.
In the gubernatorial race, Democrat Katie Hobbs leads Republican Kari Lake by over 11,700 votes, 50 to 49 percent.
In the secretary of state race, Democrat Adrian Fontes leads Republican Mark Finchem by over 84,500 votes, 52 to 47 percent.
In the attorney general race, Democrat Kris Mayes leads Republican Abraham Hamadeh by 4,000 votes, both sharing about 50 percent.
In the state treasurer race, incumbent Republican Kimberly Yee leads Democrat Martín Quezada by 201,200 votes, 55 to 44 percent.
In the superintendent race, Republican Tom Horne leads incumbent Democrat Kathy Hoffman by nearly 7,700 votes, both sharing about 50 percent.
In the first congressional district, Democrat Jevin Hodge leads incumbent Republican David Schweikert by 4,400 votes, 51 to 49 percent.
In the second congressional district, Republican Eli Crane leads incumbent Democrat Tom O’Halleran by 18,700 votes, 53 percent to 46 percent.
In the third congressional district, incumbent Democrat Ruben Gallego leads Republican Jeff Nelson Zink by 47,300 votes, 76 to 24 percent.
In the fourth congressional district, incumbent Democrat Greg Stanton leads Republican Kelly Kooper by 24,400 votes, 57 percent to 43 percent.
In the fifth congressional district, incumbent Republican Andy Biggs leads by 38,200 votes, 56 to 38 percent.
In the sixth congressional district, Republican Juan Ciscomani leads Democrat Kirsten Engel by 2,400 votes, 50 to 49 percent.
In the seventh congressional district, incumbent Democrat Raúl Grijalva leads Republican Luis Pozzolo by nearly 34,000 votes, 64 to 36 percent.
Incumbents Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) were unchallenged.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Republican Blake Masters accrued over 256,000 votes, pulling ahead of contenders Jim Lamon (187,714 votes), Attorney General Mark Brnovich (119,232 votes), Mick McGuire (57,895 votes), and Justin Olson (33,307). Former President Donald Trump endorsed Masters.
Discussing the unfortunate state of our schools with some concerned parents. We’re gonna put parents back in charge pic.twitter.com/Enryuh6r9Q
The Libertarian Party candidate, Marc Victor, ran uncontested as well. He earned just under 2,600 votes.
PRESS RELEASE! It’s Official: Marc J. Victor Will Offer Arizonans an Independent Option for the U.S. Senate The Libertarian Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate, Marc J. Victor, says he is looking forward to offering voters a “credible, serious, and independent” choice #ussenatepic.twitter.com/vxOHiaxMKZ
Democrat Jevin Hodge bested Adam Metzendorf, over 39,200 votes to over 24,600 votes.
Our sights are set on November, we’re going to work tirelessly to defeat Shady Schweikert pic.twitter.com/OG9rl2eDVR
— Jevin D. Hodge for Congress (@JevinHodge) August 4, 2022
Incumbent David Schweikert (R-AZ-06), who had Trump’s endorsement, accrued over 42,000 votes, achieving 10 percent more of the vote than runner-up Elijah Norton and 20 percent more of the vote than Josh Barnett.
The District 1 Republican primary was one of the more contested ones. Schweikert and Norton lobbed accusations at one another over ethics, either concerning campaign signs or finances. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined Schweikert $125,000 for 11 ethics violations.
Congress, District 2: Crane v. O’Halleran
Republican Eli Crane beat out State Representative Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake), earning just under 28,400 votes over Blackman’s over 20,400 votes. The remainder of the heavily-contested primary split the vote five different ways: Mark DeLuzio, under 14,800 votes; John Moore, over 6,000 votes; Andy Yates, just under 6,000 votes; Steven Krystofiak, just over 4,700 votes; and Ron Watkins in last, with just over 3,100 votes.
Gallego pledged to “make an example” of Republican candidate Jeff Zink, who ran uncontested and earned over 11,500 votes. Zink’s son, Texas resident Ryan Zink, was arrested over his presence at the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol. The elder Zink attended the rally, but didn’t participate in the riot.
If you would like to know what is really happening in Arizona then come and learn the truth https://t.co/TKf90gKKMe
— RealJeffZinkForCongress (@realJeffZink) July 27, 2022
Congress, District 4: Cooper v. Stanton
Republican Kelly Cooper (just under 16,700 votes) edged out a narrow victory over opponents Tanya Wheeless (over 13,900 votes), Dave Giles (nearly 11,000), Rene Lopez (over 8,000 votes), Rene Lopez (over 8,000), and Jerone Davison (over 7,000).
This is the reality of our border crisis. The Democrats' policies have welcomed felons to illegally enter our Nation and integrate themselves into our once secure Arizona communities. Meanwhile, Greg Stanton has done absolutely nothing! https://t.co/OTXHHXDo1a
Democratic incumbent Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09) ran uncontested, earning over 51,700 votes.
Domestic violence survivors are often forced to repeat their trauma through revictimization—it's wrong that my friend and colleague @DebbieLesko was forced to endure it today. https://t.co/QxvFVsBMmY
Incumbent Republican Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) ran uncontested, earning over 73,300 votes.
Biggs will face off against Democrat Javier Ramos, who ran uncontested and pulled over 41,500 votes.
It's exciting when Congress actually works together to get things done. Adding #Finland and #Sweden to #NATO will make us stronger against #China and #Russia and anyone who voted "yea" can be proud to be a part of that.https://t.co/IJ8nvkRlDz
Republican Juan Ciscomani won a crowded race, beating out four other opponents with over 43,800 votes. Brandon Martin earned over 12,200 votes, Kathleen Winn earned over 17,200 votes, Young Mayberry earned over 7,900 votes, and Lucretia Free earned over 4,400 votes.
🚨FIRST AD LAUNCHED🚨
I am running for the U.S. Congress to fight to secure our border and preserve the #AmericanDream. 🇺🇸 #AZ06
In a slightly-less crowded race, Democrat and former state legislator Kirsten Engel (over 49,800 votes) beat out State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson), who earned over 28,600 votes, and Avery Anderson, who earned over 5,000 votes.
Congress, District 7: Grijalva v. Pozzolo
Incumbent Democrat Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03) ran uncontested, pulling over 56,000 votes.
As climate change causes temperatures to soar, it's critical that we protect our workers from the heat.
That's why Congress needs to pass the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act to ensure the safety and health of workers who work in extreme conditions. https://t.co/UHDByQpQUX
Grijalva will face off against Republican candidate Luis Pozzolo, who earned over 17,500 votes compared to his opponent, Nina Becker, with over 8,000 votes.
— Luis Pozzolo 4 Congress (@Luis4Congress) August 4, 2022
Congress, District 8: Lesko
Incumbent Republican Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) ran uncontested, and faces no opponents in the general election.
Congress, District 9: Gosar
Incumbent Republican Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) emerged victorious in a crowded primary with over 58,200 votes. He beat out three opponents: Randy Kutz, over 11,500 votes; Adam Morgan, nearly 11,100 votes; and Sandra Dowling, over 8,100 votes.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Democratic Party hired a new staffer, Josselyn Berry, known for her support of defunding police and the infamous cop killer and FBI Most Wanted Terrorist, Assata Shakur. After escaping from prison, Shakur received political asylum in Cuba where she resides currently.
Up until recently, Berry served as the communications director for the Arizona State Senate Democratic Caucus. She assumed that role in March 2020. It was less than two months into that job and several days after George Floyd’s death that she quoted Shakur, whose remarks were loosely paraphrasing the final sentences in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels’ Communist Manifesto.
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
The Arizona Senate Democrats also shared the quote on their Twitter feed. They later removed the offending tweet and issued a formal apology after it stoked controversy. Berry didn’t delete her tweet.
In their apology statement, the Arizona Senate Democrats claimed ignorance of Shakur’s criminal history and status as a wanted terrorist.
“This is a quote used frequently in social justice and activism circles and we know her as an author and well-known commentator on civil rights. Yet it has come to our attention her past criminal conviction and current status,” wrote the Arizona Senate Democrats. “The use of the quote was not intended as an endorsement, but to emphasize issues of social justice and we regret the inclusion of the quote, but stand by the rest of the statement. We remain focused on the murder of Black Americans and finding solutions to address systemic racism in this country.”
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) May 29, 2020
Berry graduated from Arizona State University’s (ASU) Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she was also a Barrett, The Honors College student.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
