Far-right candidate Rep. Alexander Kolodin joins 2026 Arizona secretary of state race

Far-right state Rep. Alexander Kolodin is challenging Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in 2026.

The Scottsdale Republican began his campaign on Monday dodging questions about his history of claiming elections aren’t safe.

Following the 2020 election, Kolodin was involved in several election-fraud cases, including the so-called “kraken” lawsuit in 2020, which was rejected in federal court.

Kolodin was sanctioned by the state bar for representing Arizona’s “fake electors” who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Kolodin also represented the Cyber Ninjas company, which ran a 2020 audit of Maricopa County ballots after President Donald Trump lost Arizona to Joe Biden but claimed he won the state.

“I'm running to restore trust in a system that belongs to the people, not the politicians, to bring competence, clarity and confidence back to the process and to make Arizona the model for how to run world-class elections,” he said.

Kolodin said he’ll regain people’s trust in elections through transparency.

“Rules, deadlines, policies, voters should know what's changing, why it's changing, and who made the decision to change it. When voters have transparency in the process, they can trust the results,” he said.

On Monday, Kolodin was joined by other current and former members of the state Legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus who support him.

At a press conference, Kolodin declined to answer most reporters’ questions, including why people should trust him to run Arizona elections when he’s said they’re rigged.

“It looks like the Fontes campaign sent their manager down today, but I'm not gonna - I'm not gonna dignify an obvious political hit with the response. Next question,” he laughed.

Gage Skidmore/CC BY 2.0

Kolodin also wouldn’t say whether he agrees that Trump has the authority to issue his recent executive order on elections which - among other things - requires documentary proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

That same executive order is the reason Fontes said he wants to remain in his current role. Fontes said he needs to fight back against the president’s unlawful reforms to elections.

Kolodin also declined to answer a journalist who asked if he’ll resign from his current role in the state House of Representatives and another question about whether the GOP had a role in eroding trust in Arizona elections to begin with.

“This election is about the future, not about rehashing 2020 or 2022,” Kolodin said when asked whether he believes former President Joe Biden won the 2020 statewide election and whether Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs won the 2022 election.

Kolodin has already filed a statement of interest to run for secretary of state.

Kolodin accused Fontes of not trying to improve elections and brought up a recent lawsuit in which the court of appeals found that Fontes’ office didn’t allow enough time for public comment on the 2024 election procedures manual, which serves as a guide for election workers.

Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda said she’s also considering running for secretary of state, which would pit her against Kolodin in the GOP primary.

She said claims by Kolodin that she already endorsed him are false.

In a campaign video, Kolodin uses archival audio of Swoboda saying she’d support him for secretary of state, and got in another swipe at his potential opponent by saying she’s the reason he’s running.

“When your party chair asks you to run, when the future of Arizona demands that you run, and when you’re the most qualified person for the job, you run,” Kolodin said.

Swoboda said that as GOP chair, she isn’t endorsing any Republicans in primary races.

“If Rep. Kolodin were to win the Republican primary for secretary of state, he would have my full support in the general election as I have previously stated,” she said.