ICYMI: A Kari Lake Apologist and a Jan. 6 Attendee Are Now Top Republican Candidates in Battleground Districts
In Case You Missed It, Bradley Bettencourt, Republican House candidate in LD 9, and Paul Carver, Republican House candidate in LD 2, are both featured in a new article exposing their history of extremism and election denialism.
The article shines a light on “the newest cohort of Republicans with election denialism bona fides — or who just have eye-raising links to the movement.”
The article highlights Bradley Bettencourt’s role as a witness for Kari Lake’s legal team as they tried to overturn the election results of the 2022 Governor’s race, which she lost. It also exposes Bettencourt’s partnership with a consulting firm linked to the Proud Boys.
The article exposes Paul Carver's attendance at the January 6th insurrection (and includes an image of his now-deleted Facebook post showing him at the Capitol that day).
Arizona Agenda: Ghosts of election fraud past
From 2021 to 2022, Paul Carver was a leader in the Arizona state chapter of the paramilitary organization Union of Three Percenter American Patriots, whose members were involved in the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist march, the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque and the January 6 insurrection.
Paul Carver also deleted a Facebook post suggesting he was at the Capitol for the insurrection, saying there “was no insurrection.”
Back in December 2022, Bradley Bettencourt was a sworn witness for Lake’s legal team as Arizona’s queen of election conspiracies attempted to overturn her loss to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Campaign finance records show that Bradley Bettencourt has also paid at least $5,000 to McShane LLC, a consulting firm with links to the extremist group Proud Boys that was hired by Nevada Republicans to investigate fraud in the 2020 election. He told us he hired the firm as his “strategic consultants.”
Bradley Bettencourt and Paul Carver are the Republican nominees in two crucial swing districts. Bettencourt is running against Democratic nominees Rep. Lorena Austin and Jacob Martinez in LD9, while Carver is challenging incumbent Rep. Stephanie Simacek in LD2. Both races are must-wins for Republicans if they hope to retain control of the legislature.
