Campaigning for Re-Election, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes Presents Himself as a Stabilizing Leader and Democracy’s Champion

According to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and everyone else not drinking Trump’s MAGA Kool Aid, the threat to Democracy and America’s election systems is not tomorrow’s problem. It is today’s. 

Seeing Trumpism and all the voter suppression and Anti-Democratic/Pro-Fascist characteristics it presents, Mr. Fontes is running for re-election to offer stable and strong leadership while acting as Democracy’s protector and champion in Arizona. 

This has been a consistent theme since Secretary Fontes released his first re-election campaign ad and when he has appeared with others like Democracy Docket’s Marc Elias. 

Secretary Fontes graciously took the time to discuss his goals in his re-election campaign and what is at stake for Arizona if Turning Points/MAGA forces get their way in the 2026 elections. 

The questions and his responses are below. 

Please tell the readers at least two reasons/issues you are running for re-election as Secretary of State.

“Well, first of all, we have earned re-election given the performance in 2024 and the way we managed one of the most difficult election cycles in history – and that includes instituting programs that have won us national awards and recognition across the country. I’ve won my fourth Cleary from the Elections Assistance Commission for innovation and new programs instituting technologies like the ballot tracking system across the entire State. On the performance side, we’ve done very, very well.” 

“Number two, the state needs stable leadership. The state needs someone in this kind of office who everyone can talk to, who’s willing to work with anyone, and really represents a stalwart, responsible public servant who is excited about public service and not in it for upward mobility or any of those other sort of more ambitious reasons. I enjoy the work, and I think people are looking for strong, stable leadership in these times.”

Please tell the voters at least two reasons, based on your first term, why you deserve to be re-elected? 

“Well, number one, we’ve acted with dignity and respect towards political opponents, which I think is unusual in today’s political climate, and that’s going to be consistent. It was consistent for me when I was the County Recorder. I believe in the dignity that every human being deserves, and they’ve got to be treated with respect.”

“The other one reason is a strength as well. People know where I stand on a variety of different issues, but I’m always open to a conversation. I think those are two of the characteristics of someone who deserves to be re-elected, because it’s someone you can work with and who listens, and you know that you’re going to get respected, no matter where you fall regarding political opinions.”

I saw your post on the people mocking you for hailing to defeat of Fascism on Memorial Day. Please tell the voters the dangers that could happen to their Democracy, Republic, and their local and state election systems if someone who is supports Fascism or Trumpism gets elected to your position.

“Well, the dangers are already upon us. It’s not a prospective thing. It’s how do we deal with it right now. So, I don’t see this as a future problem. I see this as a today problem. We currently have individuals who want to completely eviscerate our election systems, and I think it’s a reasonable judgment to say that there are people working towards canceling the 2026 elections altogether. I’ve said that previously, and I’ll say it again. And so how we deal with it now is really very critical, not so much how we deal with it in the future, because there may very well not be a future if we don’t actually confront these folks immediately, and how we do it is by sticking to our guns and making sure that we call out the nonsense and the lies whenever they pop up their ugly little heads. And we speak to reason and truth, and we really just hold the line. And at this stage of the game, that doesn’t just mean holding the line from a defensive posture. It also means going on the attack when you see folks moving ever so slightly in the direction of getting rid of our Democracy. We’ve got to have some attack and not just all defense as part of our total strategy.”

Please explain how your outreach efforts on the coming campaign will generate support from Democrats, Independents, and like-minded Republicans and take you to victory in 2026.

“Number one, hearing from candidates directly is very important for voters, and so I’m going to take my message directly to voters. But the voters are going to hear very directly from me and that is going to really carry the torch for a lot of other folks, because by association, the benefits will bleed to others, and I hope that other folks of my political stripes will do the same thing, and spend a lot of time talking directly with voters, in mass, not just the occasional onesie/ twosies, but really getting out there, working every corner of the entire state and making sure that folks see us as candidates and hear us as candidates.”

“The other thing that other folks can do to help is to just get out there and register voters. There’s no magic sauce to it. It’s just a matter of organizing at the smallest level and then just getting out there and making sure we are registering as many voters as we possibly can. That’s going to be the best way to assure us a path to victory.”

You’ll be appearing on all sorts of media. 

“Yeah, all sorts of media and other forms that some people don’t consider media. There’s going to be a lot of things that we do with our campaign that are a little bit unconventional, and I think we’re going to be reaching a hell of a lot more folks in a much more effective way. We’ve studied carefully where people are listening, how they’re listening, and what messages they’re listening to. We’re going to use that that information and push forward hard.”

Is there anything that covered in the first four questions that you would like the readers to know about you and your reelection candidacy for Secretary of State? Please explain.

“The re-election campaign is already underway and the support that is required is significant. We’re going to be up against a very well-coordinated statewide effort from the Turning Point people. They’re going to be spending somewhere between seven and twelve dollars per voter against Democrats in the fall of 2026, and that means folks like me need financial support now, so that we can grow our campaign as quickly as possible and have as big an effect as possible. So, if you do the math on that, if one organization is spending up to 12 dollars per voter across the state, that’s a big deal, and we’re going to be up against a juggernaut. So, we’ve got to start building now, and our campaign certainly could use any financial support that people are willing to give at this early stage.”

Please click here for more information on Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and his re-election campaign.