Arizona US House Races Heat Up Ahead of Aug. 2 Primary

Whether Trump-endorsed Congressman David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) can move past his legal and ethical troubles with the federal government remains to be seen as he seeks re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Arizona primary next month.

In January, Schweikert’s campaign agreed to pay a $125,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for campaign finance violations.

He was fined $50,000 in July 2020 by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee after admitting to 11 rules violations, including misuse of campaign funds.

Schweikert is now battling a lawsuit by an Arizona man who claims Schweikert is running a “homophobic” ad campaign against his main opponent Elijah Norton.

Schweikert has served as the U.S. representative for Arizona congressional Districts 5 and 6 since 2011 and seeks to represent the newly redrawn Republican-leaning Congressional District 1. He will face two challengers in the Aug. 2 primary.

A ‘Tireless Advocate’

In June, Schweikert joined a list of Trump-endorsed America First candidates, with the former president touting Schweikert as a “tireless advocate” for Arizona and “Principled Conservative” on social media.

In November 2021, the conservative group Freedom Works named Schweikert its member of the month, calling him “the gold standard when it comes to principled conservative leadership on Capitol Hill.”

Norton has made Schweikert’s ethical rules lapses a central issue in his campaign.

“The citizens of Arizona deserve better than a representative mired in ethics violations more committed to self-preservation than doing the people’s business,” Norton said on his website.

Norton told The Epoch Times he is running for office because “the people of the Northeast Valley deserve ethical and true conservative leadership restored in Washington.

Norton, an Arizona businessman with no known endorsements, currently leads in fund-raising with over $5 million in campaign finances raised to date.

Schweikert’s campaign financial arm, Friends of David

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