Arizona Republic: “After months of sounding the alarm on what she claimed was a stolen presidential election, Kelli Ward is facing questions about her own reelection Saturday as Arizona Republican Party chair. Sergio Arellano, the southern Arizona businessman who narrowly lost to Ward in a run-off, has asked state party officials for an audit of the election results, said Kim Owens, a Republican consultant who is serving as his spokeswoman. So far, that hasn’t happened, adding to a growing sense of angst among GOP activists that the election had problems.”
“‘This isn’t about the chairman’s race, this is about election integrity,’ Arellano said in a written statement provided by Owens to The Arizona Republic. Neither Ward nor other state party officials could be immediately reached for comment. Doubts about the results of the chair’s race started to swirl after the announced winner in another race, for the at-large committee member from the 8th Congressional District, was informed she had lost. The elections played out Saturday at the party’s annual meeting, an event that was closed to most of the media and drew rare national attention because of the deep division over whether Ward should guide the party for another two years after Arizona voters backed President Joe Biden and Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.”