Republican Arizona State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita has repeatedly supported voter suppression laws in her state under the guise of election integrity, including Senate Bill 1083, which would have lowered the threshold for recounts in Arizona elections. She's also supported photo ID requirements for voters and other stances proven to reduce participation at the ballot box.
But within the Republican party, loyalty to former President Donald Trump is non-negotiable.
Though Ugenti-Rita is a supporter of Trump's, she voted against another voter suppression bill from her colleague, State Sen. Kelly Townsend, that would've granted broader state powers in monitoring signature discrepancies.
Ugenti-Rita has also recently spoken out against the ongoing partisan audit of Maricopa County, Arizona's ballots—an audit that Trump supporters hope will somehow vindicate the former President for his lies about the validity of the 2020 election.
That opposition came to a boil this past weekend when Ugenti-Rita attempted to deliver a speech at a conference for the conservative political action committee, Turning Point USA.
She was inundated with boos from the moment she hit the stage.
The State Senator gave up on giving her prepared remarks, and instead plugged her run for Arizona Secretary of State before vacating the stage:
"Fine. I am running to be your next Secretary of State. I'm going to win the primary. Thank you very much."
In a lengthy Twitter thread, Ugenti-Rita attempted to insist on her devotion to so-called election integrity.
something every candidate on that stage praised. I'll put my record of fighting for election integrity up against anyone. What I won't do is vote for “show" legislation that does nothing to strengthen election integrity and introduced for self serving reasons. (2of5)
— Michelle Ugenti-RITA (@MichelleUgenti) July 25, 2021
There's too much at stake. Our election system is under constant assault by the left, and I won't support bills that fail to strengthen our election system.
The same holds true for the audit. I supported the audit, but I do not support the Trump audit any longer. (3of5)
— Michelle Ugenti-RITA (@MichelleUgenti) July 25, 2021
I wanted to review our election processes and see what, if anything, could be improved. Sadly, it's now become clear that the audit has been botched. The total lack of competence by @FannKfann over the last 5 months has deprived the voters of Arizona a comprehensive…(4of5)
— Michelle Ugenti-RITA (@MichelleUgenti) July 25, 2021
accounting of the 2020 election. That's inexcusable, but it shows what can happen when Republicans do not take election integrity deadly serious. (5of5)
— Michelle Ugenti-RITA (@MichelleUgenti) July 25, 2021
But the MAGA crowd isn't convinced, and they're blasting her with one of Trump's favorite insults: RINO, or "Republican in Name Only."
She wasn't met with sympathy from Trump's critics either.
It's unclear if the souring on the State Senator at Turning Point will spill over to the Secretary of State primary.
