Good news! AZ House votes to set aside Civil War-era abortion ban AND an AZ grand jury has indicted 2020's fake electo

First up, the abortion ban repeal.

From AZ Mirror, written by Gloria Rebecca Gomez -

AZ House has voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Supreme Court

After two weeks of thwarted attempts, the Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal a near-total abortion ban from 1864, with three Republican lawmakers breaking from their party to join Democrats in striking it down. 

Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the 1864 law, which carries with it a mandatory prison sentence for doctors who provide an abortion for any reason other than saving a woman’s life, over a 15-week gestational ban passed in 2022. 

My guess: the Center for Arizona Policy is tugging on every leash string available to it in an attempt to have the Rs in the Senate kill the repeal.

Next, the indictment.

From AZ Mirror (again), written by Caitlin Sievers -

Grand jury indicts 18 in fake electors scheme, including two AZ state senators 

A grand jury has indicted 18 people, including two Arizona state senators and the former head of the Arizona Republican Party, in a fake elector scheme that aimed to install Donald Trump as the president after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. 

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has not released the names of everyone who was indicted, but all 11 fake electors were charged: 

• Kelli Ward, former AZGOP chairman
• Arizona Sen. Jake Hoffman, leader of the Arizona Freedom Caucus
• Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus
• Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA CEO
• Michael Ward, husband of Kelli Ward  
• Nancy Cottle, a Republican who’s been active in local politics for a decade
• James Lamon, a failed 2022 U.S. Senate candidate
• Robert Montgomery, former chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee
• Samuel Moorhead, former chairman of Gila County Republican Party 
• Lorraine Pellegrino, former president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women
• Gregory Safsten, former executive director of the AZGOP

There were also seven people indicted whose names were redacted.

CNN has information/guesses on the redacted indictees.

From CNN -

Meadows, Giuliani among indicted in Arizona in latest 2020 election subversion case

A grand jury in Arizona has handed up an indictment against former President Donald Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.

Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers; former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; and Rudy Giuliani are among those who have been indicted, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

{snip}

While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”

{snip}

Other individuals charged in the Arizona indictment but whose names have been redacted, the source familiar with the investigation told CNN, include Trump allies Mike Roman, a 2020 campaign official; Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis; and conservative attorney John Eastman.

{snip}

The Republican Party of Arizona also slammed the indictments in a statement Wednesday.

“Today’s indictments by Attorney General Kris Mayes represent a blatant and unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power, aimed solely at distracting the public from the critical policy debates our country should be focusing on as we approach the 2024 election,” the statement said.

There are a lot of "nice" days in Arizona (the weather here is fantastic..outside of July and August (and late June), but there are few "good" ones.

Wednesday was a good one.

Cheeto held to the same standard as everyone. His response: stamp his feet and cry "Waaahhhh!"

From CNBC -

Trump gripes he can’t reject ‘unlimited’ jurors in New York 

hush money trial

Donald Trump complained Wednesday that his lawyers were not given “unlimited” chances to reject prospective jurors at his New York criminal hush money trial.

But state law caps the number of would-be jurors his lawyers can strike without cause.

Trump has received that correct number strikes given the type of criminal charges he faces: 10 peremptory strikes for jurors, plus another two for every alternate juror.

House Rs declare that Dulles Airport is about to go bankrupt

Actually, they said they want to name it after Cheeto.

They've introduced H.R. 7845 to do just that.

And one of the original cosponsors?  One of Arizona's own, the ever-bigoted Paul Gosar.

As expected,  the gambit wasn't received.

From The Hill -

Virginia Democrat slams proposal to name airport after Trump: ‘I’d suggest they find a federal prison’

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday criticized a recently-introduced GOP bill that would rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Trump.

“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges,” Connolly, whose district includes a portion of Dulles, said in a statement. “If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison.” 

Personally, I think that an immigrant service center, a place where they help immigrants, should be named after him.

He will *absolutely* hate that.

Cheeto learns a little Latin

I'm sure he and his attorneys said an Ave Maria* before they proposed this one.

* = for you folks who don't have a Catholic upbringing, "Ave Maria" translates to "Hail Mary."

A Hail Mary is a desperation American football passing play used at the end of a half by the team that is behind and almost never works (at least, when it does work, it's big news in the sports world.)  

It got its nickname because it was said when that the quarterback heaved up the pass, he would say a Hail Mary prayer, hoping that the pass would be caught by one of his teammates

From USA Today -

Donald Trump's lawyer in Georgia: election lies are protected speech

Donald Trump’s lawyer argued Thursday the former president can’t be prosecuted in Georgia for trying to steal the 2020 election because his alleged conduct was political speech that must be protected under the First Amendment − even speech that was lies.

“Falsity alone is not enough,” Trump's lawyer, Steven Sadow, said. “Clearly, being president at the time, dealing with elections and campaigning, calling into question what had occurred – that’s the height of political speech.”

So, they're positing that speech intended to rationalize overthrowing the Constitution is protected by that same Constitution?

Dear Cheeto: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

I'm not a fan of the "open letter" format, but as I'm never going to meet Cheeto (at least, I hope not), so I'm going with it here.  Maybe someone in his circle will read it to him.

Dear Cheeto,

First from AP -

Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money criminal case

Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, making a fallacious claim about his daughter and urging him to step aside from the case.

In a social media post, the former president suggested without evidence that Judge Juan M. Merchan was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. He also made a claim — later repudiated by court officials — that she had posted a social media photo showing Trump behind bars.

Ummm...two points here -

1. Don't involve family.  Even if the target of your bile  treats you fairly (and I expect that this one will), it'll tick off a lot of other people. .Even some of folks who support you might lower their opinions of you (OK - probably not.  They're thoroughly besotted.  But some undecided voters...)

2. If you're going to criticize someone else's children, yours better be better.  They're not.  Not even close.

Me

That's soooo Cheeto: Tell a lie and then sue others for telling the truth

From Politico (emphasis added by me)-

Trump laments $464M judgment, sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation

Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a string of complaints lamenting the “practically impossible” $464 million he is unable to obtain a bond for in the civil fraud judgment against him, the day after hitting ABC News and George Stephanopoulos with a defamation lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

The former president’s lawyers said in a Monday court filing that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” including “approaching about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.” Trump’s inability to pay raises the possibility that the state attorney general’s office could begin to seize his assets unless the court agrees to halt the judgment while the former president appeals the verdict.

[snip]

“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision,” Trump wrote. “ … I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

Trump’s assertion that he needs to post hundreds of millions of dollars “for the right to appeal” is wrong. He can appeal the judgment without posting any money — and indeed, he already has begun the appeals process.

[snip]

Trump’s rants over his legal issues in New York come after he sued ABC News and Stephanopoulos for defamation Monday over a March 10 airing of “This Week.” The anchor said on air that Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll during a heated interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Cheeto actually *likes* the RNC. Imagine what he'll do to the USA if he returns to the White House.

From Politico -

Bloodbath at RNC: Trump team slashes staff at committee

Donald Trump’s newly installed leadership team at the Republican National Committee on Monday began the process of pushing out dozens of officials, according to two people close to the Trump campaign and the RNC.

All told, the expectation is that more than 60 RNC staffers who work across the political, communications and data departments will be let go. Those being asked to resign include five members of the senior staff, though the names were not made public. Additionally, some vendor contracts are expected to be cut.

Cheeto's gambit is not without historical precedent.

The survey results (of presidential historians) are in! Unsurprisingly, Cheeto is considered to be the worst-ever POTUS.

He's certainly the worst of my lifetime*.

Technically, I was alive during the LBJ administration, but I don't have a memory of him as POTUS.  Though

From NPR -

In historians' Presidents Day survey, Biden vs. Trump is not a close call

President Biden is in a tight race to keep former President Donald Trump from reclaiming the White House, recent polls show. But that's not how 154 historians and presidential experts see it: They rate Biden in the top third of U.S. presidents, while Trump ranks dead last.

The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey has Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. Trump comes in 45th, behind fellow impeachee Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan, the perennial cellar-dweller in such ratings due to his pre-Civil War leadership.

The historians rated Barack Obama highly, and as I consider him to be the best POTUS of my lifetime, I don't disagree with them on Obama or Cheeto.  In between, however, there are some differences.

They rated Obama 7th overall and the best of my lifetime (and the highest ranked living ex-president), so I agree with that one.

Bill Clinton and Joe Biden were ranked 12th and 14th, respectively.  Clinton's ranking is a little high for my taste - top half, certainly though.  As for Joe Biden, I think he deserves an incomplete because his term is ongoing.

Ronald Reagan is ranked 16th, which is way too high - he took advantage of Richard Nixon's criminality. Society was tired and wanted someone in the White House who reminded them of the "good ol' days".

George HW Bush was ranked 19th, which was a little high, but I think that his biggest failing was that he wasn't Reagan - most of the folks who voted for him were hoping for a 3rd Reagan term.  They didn't get that.

Jimmy Carter was ranked 22nd, near the middle of the pack.  I have always thought he was underrated as a POTUS

Gerald Ford was ranked 27th; I don't disagree with that, but since he was an unelected placeholder who replaced Nixon, an incomplete might be appropriate here.

George W. Bush was ranked 32nd (which was way too high in my estimation) and until Cheeto, was the worst POTUS of my lifetime and it wasn't even close (I don't believe that it's a coincidence that both people who were the worst at being POTUS in my lifetime have MBAs - POTUS isn't a gig where the concept of right and wrong synchs up with profitable and not profitable.)  Also, W was in charge of the most corrupt presidential administration ever.

At least until Cheeto came along.

The biggest reason that I rate W ahead of Cheeto is, as bad as he was, is that I never thought he was a traitor.

Nixon was ranked 35th, which I feel is too high.  He made cynicism about politicians part of the American psyche.

Cheeto was ranked 45th.  The main reason he wasn't ranked lower is because there aren't more Presidents.

Maybe Cheeto expects to sell $350 million worth of sneakers

That's a *lot* of sneakers, even though I expect him to keep his material costs low and his labor costs lower.

He had a bad week and may be in dire need of cash.

From AP -

Trump avoids ‘corporate death penalty’ in civil fraud case, but his business will still get slammed

Donald Trump won’t face the corporate death penalty after all.

A New York judge on Friday spared the ex-president that worst case punishment as he ruled in a civil case alleging Trump fraudulently misrepresented financial figures to get cheaper loans and other benefits.

[snip]

Trump and his businesses were told they would have to pay $355 million for “ill gotten gains.” Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., who help run the business, were ordered to pay $4 million each. Trump’s former chief financial officer was ordered to pay $1 million, for a total judgment of $364 million

.

He has an "interesting" way of consoling himself.

From NBC News -

Trump launches a sneaker line

Former President Donald Trump launched a line of sneakers ranging in price from $199 to $399.

If anyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop in the upcoming presidential race, former President Donald Trump just did, launching his own line of tennis shoes on Saturday.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Trump said when he announced the launch of a sneaker line at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.

Ummm...Nike's Air Jordan 4s look to retail for $65 - $230.

Which puts the high end of that range just above the low end of the range for Cheeto's shoes.

So...should the countdown clock be started now or should it be put off a couple of weeks?

As in, the countdown clock on the sneakers going on clearance and being sold in countries that Cheeto calls "shitholes."  For pennies on the dollar.

Speaking of which, if Cheeto wants to market something that he'll sell a lot of, I have one suggestion to make.

And I make this suggestion with all due respect.

He should sell toilet paper...with his image emblazoned on each sheet.

Of course, it won't work - even disgusting things are repelled by things viler than them.

Rats fleeing the sinking ship: the Lake/DeWit "scandal" continues to unfold

The word scandal is in quotes because, to the best of my knowledge (I'm not an attorney), nothing that DeWit did was illegal.

First, from BusinessInsider -

Kari Lake just successfully pushed out Arizona's top Republican Party official after he allegedly tried to bribe her to stay out of politics

The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party resigned on Wednesday, alleging the GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake all but forced him into doing so.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail published a 10-minute audio recording in which Jeff DeWit, the party chairman who's served for just under a year, appears to bribe Lake into staying out of politics for two years.

[snip]

Lake, apparently recording the in-person interaction herself, can be heard repeatedly rejecting the entreaties, saying she wouldn't even do it for $1 billion.

The rats, including the biggest one himself, are falling all over themselves to avoid AZ.

From AZ Family, written by Ben Bradley -

Trump no longer coming to Arizona; AZGOP Freedom Fest canceled

Former President Donald Trump will no longer be coming to Arizona this week, where he was scheduled to speak during a GOP rally Friday evening in Phoenix. The AZGOP Freedom Fest has also been canceled, an Arizona Republican Party spokesperson confirmed to Arizona’s Family.

Trump was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the event. Other speakers who were scheduled to appear included Congress members Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar and Eli Crane, as well as U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, Abe Hamadeh, Charlie Kirk and Tyler Bowyer. Tickets to the event were sold through eventbrite, and a state GOP spokesperson says refunds will be issued.

Maybe Lake should learn a lesson from another AZ Republican who recorded things.

From TPM, dated June 21, 2012 -

Arizona Lobbyist Suspected Of Working For FBI Asked To Leave GOP Fundraiser

A lobbyist suspected of working for the feds in an FBI corruption sting was asked to leave a fundraiser for two state Republicans that was attended by Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin (R), TPM has learned.

Lobbyist Mike Williams, who is suspected of being involved in a wide-ranging corruption probe of Arizona politicians which has already ensnared Rep. Ben Arredondo, was asked to leave a June 18 fundraiser by lobbyist Stan Barnes, who was hosting the event at his firm Copper State Consulting Group in Phoenix. Donations at the “M-Squared Fundraser” went to Republican state Sen. Michele Reagan and Republican state Rep. Michelle Ugenti, while Tobin was a special guest.

Note: Williams is still a lobbyist registered with the Arizona Secretary of State.

"Shunning" is a time-honored tactic for Republicans when dealing with one of their own who records things, so in the long run, this may help Mark Lamb in the AZ Senate R primary* and Ruben Gallego in the general**.

* = I still believe that Lake will ultimately be the R nominee.  This may help Lamb get closer, but it won't put him over the top.  On the other hand, she still has a lot of time to make more mistakes.

** = I still believe that Gallego will win in the general election, but it won't be a walkover.  This helps, though.

Cheeto may have won the R caucuses in Iowa, but their nominating process isn't over

...not by a long shot.

Don't misunderstand me - I *do* believe that he will eventually win their 2024 presidential nomination, but not because of this result.

He has a strong ideological grip, not on America, but on a significant segment of the Republican Party (they *worship* him).

But Iowa isn't the end of things.

According to the Des Moines Public Library, there have been seven contested races in the R Iowa presidential caucuses since 1980 (incumbent presidents don't get challenged, and in 1972 and 1976 the R caucus in IA was irrelevant).  

Of the winners of those, two became the eventual R nominee (Bob Dole in 1996, and George W. Bush in 2000) and one of those eventually became president (Bush).

I'm not the first to observe this.

From Politico, dated 1/15 -

The checkered history of Iowa caucus champs

It’s not quite an “Iowa caucus curse,” but winning the first nominating contest hasn’t worked out so well for Republican presidential candidates lately.

In fact, the last three Iowa GOP caucus winners each failed to capture the party’s nomination: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas (2016), former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (2012) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (2008).

Cheeto may have won in Iowa, but so have many also-rans.

And they weren't facing multiple court dates.

Nikki Haley hedges her bets in the GOP presidential primary

She is trying to appeal to Cheeto's base by telling them that the war they lost was all about "freedom."

Freedom to enslave and kill others for not looking like them, maybe.  However, believing the Civil War was about "freedom" doesn't mean that Cheeto, his supporters, or her, are decent human beings.

From CBS News -

Nikki Haley defends leaving slavery out as cause of Civil War after backlash

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Thursday sought to defend earlier comments that failed to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War as she received backlash on social media. 

"I mean, of course, the Civil War was about slavery," Haley said on The Pulse of New Hampshire Radio program "Good Morning NH with Jack Heath."

"We know that- that's, that's the easy part of it. What I was saying was, what does it mean to us today? What it means to us today is about freedom. That's what that was all about. It was about individual freedom, it was about economic freedom, it was about individual rights," she said. 

[snip]

"Well, don't come with an easy question," Haley joked. "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn't do. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?"

[snip]

"I think it always comes down to the role of government, and what the rights of the people are," Haley said. "And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn't need to tell you how to live your life."

I believe that there are three possible goals of her behavior:

1.  She's wants to be the nominee.  She's closed the gap with Cheeto, and thinks that appealing to his supporters will put her over the top.

2. She wants to in second so she can be the alternative nominee in the (likely) event that Cheeto wins the nomination but is unable to run in the general due to his myriad issues.

3. She wants to be on the ticket as the VP candidate.

No matter how she's on the GOP ticket, no one in that primary is worthy is worthy of a vote.  Including her.

Cheeto has an interesting definition of "loser"

From The Hill -

Trump lashes out at ‘loser’ Rep. Debbie Dingell in swirling feud

Former President Trump hit back at Rep. Debbie Dingell’s (D-Mich.) criticism of his “rot in Hell” Christmas message, calling her a “loser” in the latest in a string of insults aimed at the lawmaker and her family.

“Debbie Dingell of Michigan is a LOSER, who is helping Crooked Joe Biden, and his Merry Band of Thugs, to DESTROY our Country with his INSANE Open Borders Policy, Inflation, High Cost Energy, Green New Scam, HORRIBLE WORLD DIPLOMACY, Afghanistan Catastrophe, All Electric Cars, and so much else,” Trump wrote Tuesday in a Truth Social post.

From the Michigan Secretary of State -

From CNN -

MAGAits don't get their way so they threaten violence. Color me shocked!

Next, someone will tell me that water is wet.

From The Guardian (UK) -

Colorado supreme court justices face death threats after Trump ruling

Justices on the Colorado supreme court are receiving a barrage of death threats after it ruled to exclude Donald Trump from the state’s presidential ballot next year because of his attempts to cause insurrection.

A report compiled by Advance Democracy, a non-partisan non-profit organization, said there was “significant violent rhetoric” against the justices and Democrats on social media, according to NBC News.

Cheeto supporters aren't happy about something so they spew violent rhetoric.

Only on days ending in "Y".

Just when you think that certain people can't go any lower

At least we get a new definition of "shameless" out of it.

From The Guardian (UK)

Alex Jones offers $55m to Sandy Hook families to satisfy $1.5bn judgment

The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has proposed to pay $55m over 10 years to the Sandy Hook families who sued him for spreading lies that the 2012 school massacre in Connecticut, one of the worst in American history, was a hoax.

The offer came after a Texas judge ruled that Jones, the host of Infowars, could not use bankruptcy protection to dodge the nearly $1.5bn he was ordered to pay to the victims’ families, who suffered abuse and threats from believers of Jones’s lies.

According to the 30-page plan submitted on Friday, Jones offered to pay a lump sum of at least $5.5m a year, to be shared among the plaintiffs. The payment would also be accompanied by a percentage of his personal annual revenue, and a slice of Infowars revenue. His debt would be considered satisfied after 10 years.

So...is Jones auditioning to be on Cheeto's ticket as his VP candidate or to be an agency head (Treasury Secretary or head of the IRS) if he wins?

Paraguayan official fired for acknowledging fake country. You know Cheeto just has two questions

1. Does that fake country want an overpriced hotel or golf course named after a crook?

2. Does it have an extradition treaty with the U.S.?

Not certain which one is more important to Cheeto right now.

From France24 -

Paraguay official sacked after signing agreement with fictitious country

Arnaldo Chamorro told reporters Thursday he was dismissed from his job as chief of staff to the agriculture minister after signing the document with purported officials from the "United States of Kailasa" -- presented to him as a South American island.

"They (the 'officials') came and expressed a wish to help Paraguay. They presented several projects, we listened to them and that was that," he said, admitting to having been fooled.

He was dismissed on Wednesday.

Maybe someone should send Cheeto a proclamation that declares him to king and chief potentate of Elbonia.

Hey, Elbonia was in a comic strip written by a bigoted whackjob; someone who is right up Cheeto's ideological alley.

Cheeto's credo: If you don't like reality, just lie about it

And, surprisingly enough, this isn't about the reality of him losing the 2020 election.

Not this time.

From The Independent (UK) via Yahoo! -

Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene try to rewrite story of South Carolina 

football game

Former President Donald Trump and his loyal friend, Congresswoman 

Marjorie Taylor Greene, seem to be promoting a different version of events after 

Mr Trump was booed at the South Carolina football game.

While videos captured Mr Trump being met with a cacophony of boos as he 

walked onto the field during halftime, he quickly tried to revise the incident.

On Truth Social, he reposted articles that said the crowds showed support. He 

posted one article alongside a quote, which read: “Trump cheered at football 

stadium, picks up slew of new endorsements in South Carolina.”

Federal Committees update - special edition

By "special", I mean "CD8".

Two updates, with both candidate running for the CD8 currently held by Republican Debbie Lesko, who's not running for re-election in 2024.

Kern is currently an AZ state senator who is looking to return to the U.S. Capitol, where he was on January 6, 2021.

Of course, according to an AZ Mirror article written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, he's facing a complaint that alleges that he may have used campaign funds to attend the insurrection. 

Complaint alleges GOP lawmaker illegally used campaign cash to attend J6

An Arizona GOP legislator who was among the rioting crowds at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is facing a campaign finance complaint alleging that he illegally used cash from a failed re-election bid to attend the insurrection.

The complaint against Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale claims that Kern improperly used campaign funds from his failed 2020 re-election to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the events of Jan. 6, 2021, including airfare and a hotel stay. 

“These travel expenses occurred during the same time that Senator Kern traveled to Washington, D.C. for a rally at the United State Capitol on January 6, 2021 – a rally that ultimately turned violent and led to the death of seven people,” the complaint filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office by Peoria resident Josh Gray says. 

His activity only begs the question: Will his CD8 campaign cash be funneled to Cheeto's defense?

According to his contribution record with the AZSOS, Lewis is a project manager.

According to the website of the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS), 13 people have filed statements of interest for the race (it's NOT a requirement; people don't have to file one in order to appear on a ballot or even to form a committee - Lewis did file one, but Kern did not.)

Lesko filed one, but she filed it in January, well before she bowed out of the 2024 race.

GOP nominee for House Speaker withdraws his candidacy; the GOP's need for a clown van continues unabated

Someone else is in the dock now that Tom Emmer is out.

From AP via Yahoo! -

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for House speaker after Emmer's withdrawal, desperate to end chaos

House Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker, hours after an earlier pick, Rep. Tom Emmer, abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from  and hardline GOP lawmakers.

Johnson of Louisiana is member of House GOP leadership, a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues who had rallied Republicans around Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

[snip]

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer abruptly abandoned his bid to become House speaker Tuesday, withdrawing within hours of winning the internal party nomination after Donald Trump objected and hardliners refused to support him for the gavel.

Emmer becomes the third House Republican to fall short in what has become an almost absurd cycle of political infighting since Kevin McCarthy's ouster as GOP factions jockey for power. Refusing to unify, far-right members won't accept a more traditional speaker and more moderate members don't want a hardliner.

Johnson looks to be the kind of hardliner that the "moderates" claim not to want