Rusty Bowers, a Jan. 6 committee star witness, loses GOP primary in Arizona
Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House who delivered gripping testimony earlier this summer to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 C
Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House who delivered gripping testimony earlier this summer to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, lost his bid for a state Senate seat on Tuesday to a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, NBC News projected.
Armed with Trump's endorsement, former state Sen. David Farnsworth held a lead of more than 20 points over Bowers in their bid for Arizona's 10th District as of 1:15 a.m. ET.
Bowers, who testified to the committee of the effort by Trump and his allies to get him to overturn the 2020 election in his state, told NBC News last month it would be difficult for him to pull off a victory in his state Senate race.
"It’s so hostile," Bowers said then of the political environment in a phone interview, noting the overwhelming pro-Trump preference of his state Senate district, Arizona’s 10th. "If I pull this off, it’s going to be a miracle."
Rusty Bowers, Arizona House speaker, partakes in a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol on June 21, 2022.Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileJust weeks after Bowers' testimony, the Arizona Republican Party censured him, saying he "has demonstrated he is unfit to serve the platform of the Republican Party of Arizona and the will of the voter of the Republican Party in Arizona" and called on voters "to expel him permanently from office."
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