Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican who testified at the January 6 Committee hearing against former President Donald Trump, lost his primary to State Sen. David Farnsworth.
Bowers was stymied by the Trump-backed candidate in his attempt to join the state Senate for its longer term limits.
Farnsworth criticized Bowers for refusing to help Trump or go along with a contentious 2021 election “audit” that Republican leaders in the Senate commissioned. Bowers also drew criticism after he testified in front of the January 6 Committee hearing against Trump in June.
During his testimony, the House Speaker disputed the characterization of his conversation with Trump following the 2020 election.
Bowers denied that he told Trump that the then-president had won Arizona and the election was rigged, saying he never made either of those statements. Bowers also testified that Trump’s campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani offered no concrete evidence of election fraud.
Trump’s endorsement of Farnsworth is part of a larger slew of support he has offered to those challenging lawmakers who worked against him during his presidency and who voted for his impeachment.
Farnsworth will automatically win the state Senate seat because no Democrat is running in the heavily Republican district.
Bowers faced an uphill battle during the election after the state Republican Party censured him following his June testimony before the January 6 Committee.
“I’m well aware that I’m highly distrusted,” Bowers told the Associated Press before the election. “My district is a very Trump district, and who knows how this is all going to work out.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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