In the primary elections of the US Republican Party in the state of Arizona, local legislator Alexander Kolodin won the race for nomination to Secretary of State. The lawyer is considered a supporter of US President Donald Trump, who previously called Kolodin a patriot and an “amazing lawyer.”
Kolodin’s rival at the July 21 vote was the owner of another Eastern European surname, Gina Svoboda. She previously chaired the Arizona Republican Party Committee. Trump did not formally express support for any of the candidates, despite the mentioned compliments that Kolodin used in his campaigning.
According to the Associated Press (AP), based on the results of processing 85% of the ballots, Kolodin beat Svoboda with a result of 59.6% of the votes to 40.4%. The agency announced his victory shortly after it began processing ballots based on the progress of the count.
Alexander Kolodin, 40, was born in Arizona and emphasizes his Jewish heritage. The politician is the only Jew currently sitting in the local Legislature.
US liberal media call Kolodin a representative of the camp of “election denier” Republicans. The lawyer tried unsuccessfully in both 2020 and 2022 to challenge Democratic election victories in the courts, alleging massive fraud. As the Arizona Mirror noted, in one of these complaints, Kolodin, on behalf of 11 Republican voters, accused local authorities of issuing obviously defective markers at polling stations, due to which their ballots cast for Trump were not counted.
As Secretary of State, if he wins, Kolodin’s powers will include organizing elections in the state. Official support for Kolodin was expressed by the youth organization Turning Point USA of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed last year.
57-year-old Svoboda (Gina Swoboda) was born in New York and took her current surname after marriage. She emphasizes that she considers herself Italian and professes Catholicism. The politician conceded defeat in the X (formerly Twitter) primary and said she wants the Republican Party to succeed in the November 3 general election.
Another amazing week campaigning across beautiful Arizona ☀️💗 Thank you Mohave, Maricopa & Pinal! Arizona is truly blessed 🙏🏻🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/voA47k7muo
— Gina Swoboda (@GinaSwoboda) July 3, 2026
Kolodin’s rival in the fight for the post of Secretary of State will be Democrat Adrienne Fontes, who has held this post since 2023. Arizona will also hold elections for governor, attorney general and Congress for nine seats from the state's respective congressional districts. The state is considered “purple” or “swing,” meaning it does not regularly support members of the same party.
Arizona's incumbent governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs, will compete for re-election against U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who won the Republican primary by nearly 60 percentage points. Biggs has received official support from Trump.
