An Arizona Republican who was among a group of 11 fake electors that tried to falsely declare Donald Trump the winner of the state in the 2020 election has explained why he no longer supports the former president.
Jim Lamon, who ran for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, but lost to the Trump-endorsed candidate, Blake Masters, in August 2022, was part of a group of Republican figures, including Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward and State Senator Jake Hoffman, who met in December 2020 to sign a document falsely declaring themselves the "duly elected and qualified electors" for the state and award Trump the 11 electoral votes.
It has since been revealed that Lamon has turned on Trump and is now supporting his main rival in the 2024 presidential primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.
Lamon is the sole donor to the anti-Trump PAC Actions Speak Louder Than Tweets, which has been paying for ads attacking the former president in recent months over his previous endorsement of moderate Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, and for his support of a national red flag gun-confiscation scheme alongside Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2018.
Prosecutors across the country appear to be honing in on the Republican plot to wrongly declare that Trump had beaten Biden in several states at the 2020 election by falsely claiming they were the official slate of electors. There is also speculation that Trump will soon be indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election probe after he reportedly received a target letter informing him he is under federal investigation.
Kari Lake, the former Arizona gubernatorial candidate who was endorsed by Trump and Lamon in her 2022 race, described Lamon's decision to try and stop Trump becoming president again as "really unfortunate."
"I hate to see that Jim Lamon is behind this. Hopefully the Arizona GOP and [Arizona GOP Chairman] Jeff DeWit will denounce this behavior and distance themselves from this and get behind President Trump so we can Make America Great Again."
In response, Lamon explained why he has since switched allegiances to DeSantis, having previously been part of a scheme to declare Trump the winner of Arizona in 2020, despite the state actually being rightfully won by Joe Biden.
"What is to denounce? These are Trump's own words. He did support red flag laws. He did support Romney over true conservatives," Lamon wrote, while resharing one of Actions Speak Louder Than Tweets' attack ads.
Kari: What is to denounce? These are Trump’s own words. He did support red flag laws. He did support Romney over true conservatives. I spent millions supporting conservatives (incl. you) & 6 figures supporting Trump. He was much better than Hillary and Biden & I'm glad he won. 1/ pic.twitter.com/94QoJN6V2i
— Jim Lamon (@jim_lamon) July 20, 2023
"I spent millions supporting conservatives (incl. you) & 6 figures supporting Trump. He was much better than Hillary and Biden & I'm glad he won.
"But Trump and his endorsements have been losing since 2017. Trump did not fulfill his promises on the wall, he shut down the country during covid and kept [former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony] Fauci, he grew the deep state & didn't reform the FBI/DOJ, let out criminals, added massive debt," Lamon added.
"We have primaries for a reason, and I believe our best nominee is a fellow veteran and principled lifelong conservative. That's why I am supporting Ron DeSantis, a true conservative winner that will get things done."
In reply, Lake wrote to Lamon: "After the primary, we look forward to your support of President Donald J. Trump. I'll be the first one to give you a giant hug and say 'Welcome Home, Jim!'"
Lamon was previously reported to be among a number of one-time Trump supporters and top GOP donors who were present at a three-day retreat hosted by DeSantis at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, Florida, in February, two months prior to the governor confirming his White House bid.
The DoJ is said to be honing in on the fake elector scheme as part of the expansive probe into the attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the events leading up to the January 6 attack.
On Tuesday, Michigan's attorney general, Dana Nessel, announced that 16 people, including Meshawn Maddock, a former co-chair of the Michigan Republican party, and Kathy Berden, a national committeewoman for the Republican National Committee, have been charged with felony offenses in relation to the alleged fake electoral plot.
The charges include election law forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery. It's the first time that anyone has been charged over any "false electors" scheme, which also took place in states such as New Mexico, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' office is reported to have launched an investigation into the fake elector scheme, although the inquiry is only said to be in its "fact-gathering" phase, Dan Barr, Mayes's chief deputy, told The Washington Post.
