PHOENIX, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9 continues to add to 'Your Voice, Your Vote' coverage, profiling candidates for elected offices in Arizona who are campaigning for voters' support on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Unlike most U.S. states, Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor office. Should a sitting governor be unable to do their job, the individual who's second in line is the secretary of state.
Both men running for this office in these midterm elections said they understand its proximity to the top role and its possibility, however unlikely it may be.
However, each said their focus is to serve as Arizona's top election director, should the voters pick them.
KGUN 9 is sharing parts of the conversations with each candidate nominated by the major political parties, as they approach the final stretches of their campaigns.
State Rep. Mark Finchem has worked as a legislator since 2015, representing constituents from Oro Valley, Marana and other parts of Pima County.
We met Finchem, the Republican Party nominee in this electoral contest, inside his state house office, a place where he's both written and voted on proposed laws. If elected to the job he's now running for, Finchem said he would follow election laws as prescribed by the legislature.
"It's the legislature that chooses the time, place and manner of elections," he said. "It's up to the secretary of state to see to it that the public policy, that is put into law, is carried out by the executive branch as the senior elections director." To that end, Finchem said he would support a review of the current state Election Procedures Manual.
Among other changes, Finchem said he would back a purge of voter registration lists with people and names deemed ineligible to cast a ballot in Arizona.
Finchem, who is campaigning to replace current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, brought up her current campaign for governor as an example for a potential legislative change.
Finchem said he would advocate that the Arizona state legislature pass a law where a sitting secretary of state could not keep the office if they move past a primary election for another public office.
"That's the one example where I believe we should have a 'resign to run' law, because they need to remove themselves from having any potential of putting their thumb on the scale of election justice," he said.
When we asked Finchem him if it's a disadvantage not to have experience as an election director or county recorder, he pointed to his success leading small and large businesses.
"125 employees on one continent, another 50 on another, 50 here at home. That's quite a team that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, servicing 1.2 million people simultaneously. I'd say that I do have the experience to manage an executive level position."
Another former top government executive and political lightning rod has given his stamp of approval to Finchem's campaign. The candidate said despite getting what he called a meaningful endorsement, the race for the secretary of state's office is not about former Pres. Donald Trump.
"This is about making sure that our elections are secure, that they're fair, that everyone has an opportunity to compete in the arena of ideas. Once I'm elected — the moment I'm elected — I have to take off the partisan hat and see to it that every single law is followed, and that everybody has... the whole point of having a law is to level the playing field so everybody knows the rules."
Still, Finchem's connection to the former president has drawn several rounds of criticism. Getty images confirmed Finchem was among a crowd of people in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, protesting the certification of President Biden's electoral win from outside the Capitol Building.
In the past, Finchem has also criticized the current mail-in vote infrastructure -- one he's claimed opens up potential for fraud. During the Arizona PBS television debate in September, Finchem debated his opponent about the ubiquity of mail-in voting. Finchem has suggested in the past, he would advocate to cut back early voting in favor of casting ballots in person.
Recently, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Finchem filed with fellow Republican candidate Kari Lake. Their legal claim wanted to require current Arizona election officials to hand count all ballots cast this November.
For Finchem, he said the goal remains to find the best process to carry out fair elections.
"I don't expect everybody to agree with me. That's one of the joys of our system, that we can have a disagreement," he said. "One of the worst things that you can do is just shoot from the hip. That's that's not the way I do business. We want to look at the at the process, want to find out where are the defects in the process?"
A note for readers and viewers:
The shorter reports presented on Good Morning Tucson did not include statements each candidate made attacking their opponent.
Below, you can watch Mr. Finchem's full interview answers:
——-
José Zozaya is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Before arriving in southern Arizona, José worked in Omaha, Nebraska where he covered issues ranging from local, state and federal elections, to toxic chemical spills, and community programs impacting immigrant families. Share your story ideas and important issues with José by emailing jose.zozaya@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.