Congresswoman Liz Cheney traveled to Arizona on Wednesday to stump for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs at an Arizona State University event sponsored by the McCain Institute. While the event was part of the Knight Foundation-funded “Defending American Democracy Program,” Cheney spent the bulk of her time complaining about the results of democratically held elections.
When Cheney was not criticizing Arizona’s Republican candidates, her fellow Republican lawmakers, and former President Donald Trump, she was singing the praises of outgoing Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers who, like Cheney, attacked his own party’s base and was soundly rejected by Republican voters in the 2022 Republican Primaries.
Cheney told the audience that they will play a vital role in “ensuring the future functioning of our constitutional republic,” by ensuring that the likes of Trump-endorsed GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem do not put the republic at risk.
“So what happens here in Arizona is not just important for Arizona, but it’s important for the nation and for the future functioning of our constitutional republic,” the obviously campaigning Cheney told the audience.
Cheney even went so far as to admonish her fellow Republicans for supporting Trump-endorsed candidates. With a distinct sneer in her voice, Cheney said that Sen. Ted Cruz, who was in Arizona this week in support of GOP candidates like Eli Crane, Kari Lake and others, “should know better than to campaign,” for those people.
The event was promoted through snippets showing Cheney vowing to do whatever is necessary to prevent Trump-endorsed candidates from winning in November.
Arizona lawmaker, Sen. David Livingston, questioned the appropriateness and legality of hosting what appeared to most politicos as a political campaign event.
“It is very disturbing that just days after Liz Cheney declared her intention to campaign against the Republican nominee for Governor, Kari Lake, the McCain Institute rushes her to town to do just that. If any taxpayer funds are a part of this obvious attempt to influence Arizona’s election, the event should be cancelled, and the State Legislature will take a very great interest in its outcome when we reconvene in the next few months,” said Livingston.
“No doubt the McCain Institute will declare that John McCain himself would approve of bringing in Liz Cheney to attack our Republican nominee. I’m quite certain he would, which is all the more reason it is wrong and an inappropriate use of taxpayer-funded ASU resources,” concluded Livingston.
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Arizona Legislature enacted a series of statutes to prohibit the use of public resources “for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of elections,” in 1996. The prohibitions, codified in the Arizona Revised Statutes, applied to cities (§ 9‑500.14); counties (§ 11-410); state and public agencies (§ 16-192); school districts and charter schools (§ 15-511); community colleges (§ 15-1408); and universities (§ 15-1633). The Legislature provided a statutory definition of “influencing the outcomes of elections:”
“Influencing the outcomes of elections” means supporting or opposing a candidate for nomination or election to public office or the recall of a public officer or supporting or opposing a ballot measure, question or proposition, including any bond, budget or override election and supporting or opposing the circulation of a petition for the recall of a public officer or a petition for a ballot measure, question or proposition in any manner that is not impartial or neutral.”
