Seeing his prospects for a second term rapidly dimming in late 2020, President Donald Trump pressed Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to procure made-up votes that could tip the scales in his favor, The Washington Post reported Saturday citing three people familiar with their call.
The now-former president enacted a similar pressure campaign against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) with an order to “find” votes, which was recorded and is currently the subject of criminal investigations.
Ducey did not record his call with Trump, the newspaper said.
The Post report shines new light on the Trump camp’s efforts to overturn Democratic rival Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona; at the time, it was reported that Trump’s allies in the Republican Party were putting pressure on local election officials.
Trump also tried to use his vice president, Mike Pence, to coerce Ducey into changing the results of the election, according to the Post, which noted that Pence called Ducey but did not pressure him.
Ducey does not appear to have been swayed. In a video from late November 2020, the governor was seen ignoring a call from Trump while he signed documents officially certifying the election results, which showed Trump lost the state.
Arizona’s current governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs, replaced Ducey after a contentious race against pro-Trump candidate Kari Lake in 2022.
Special counsel Jack Smith, tasked by the Justice Department to investigate Trump, has been looking into potential wrongdoing in several states where Trump contested the results of the 2020 election. Late last year, his office subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania; Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was contacted last month.
It is not clear whether Ducey has been in contact with Smith’s office.
Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents led to 37 criminal charges against the former president in early June, which could result in prison time. More charges against Trump are also possible.