// WIRED US/UK — MODA & SOCIETÀ
They Believe 2020 Was Stolen. They Could Be in Charge of Elections in 2028
One was central to facilitating the bogus Cyber Ninjas audit of the 2020 vote in Maricopa County that found no evidence of voter fraud but cost taxpayers $4 million. Another is friends with a Covid-denying former boxer turned MAGA influencer who was filmed on the steps of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 shouting “1776.” Another was set to headline a rally with MyPillow founder and election denial funder Mike Lindell.
This is not a list of edgy MAGA influencers sharing hot takes on X, or podcast hosts on Rumble boosting wild conspiracy theories. No, this is a list of some of the Republican candidates running for attorney general in states across the US.
A WIRED review has identified a slate of GOP attorney general candidates in more than half a dozen states, including key swing states, who have repeatedly expressed their belief that the 2020 election was stolen. If elected, several have said, they are willing to relitigate 2020 once again—and all will potentially play a key role in the 2028 presidential election.
“Any attorney general should be dedicated to upholding the rule of law,” Christina Beeler, senior counsel for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, tells WIRED. “The office of attorney general is a powerful office, and it is deeply important that anyone in that role is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and the results of elections.”
The role of attorney general in the administration and protection of elections differs from state to state, but in general, as their state’s chief legal officer they are required to be a check on both the governor and the federal government. The functions of the role have been highlighted in recent months, as attorneys general across the country have repeatedly stood up to President Donald Trump and his administration's efforts to take control of elections, seize ballots, and obtain voter rolls containing sensitive information on US citizens.
Here, WIRED has looked at GOP candidates for attorney general in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Kansas, where some have openly espoused baseless allegations about the 2020 election.
Warren Petersen, an Arizona state senator, was one of the most vocal supporters of Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen. In 2020, he signed a document that asked Congress to accept 11 alternate electoral votes for Trump, and later signed another demanding the US Senate reject Arizona’s slate of electors.
Petersen was also central to getting the bogus audit in Maricopa County approved, a process run by a firm called Cyber Ninjas. The audit ultimately showed that Joe Biden had won by more votes than originally thought. The whole process cost Arizona taxpayers millions.
Earlier this year, Petersen complied with a grand jury subpoena, handing over files on the Cyber Ninjas audit to the FBI as part of its investigation into the 2020 election in Maricopa.
And the lawmaker has also signaled a possible desire to relitigate the 2020 election if he’s elected, calling for an expansion of the attorney general’s Election Integrity Unit. “People will know we’re serious about it,” Petersen said during his primary campaign in July. “Just like they know the Trump DOJ is serious about it right now.”