Broadly speaking, there are three types of politicians. The first is the AOC type who is always saying outrageous things that get attention, rile up the base, but never accomplish anything other than raise money for themselves. The second group are those who take office and then compromise with the other side, i.e. the John Kasich type. The third group are those who actually do a lot according to their principles, usually quietly so that they can do more without being noticed. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is a third type.
During his first six years in office, he quietly trudged on, forging victories for freedom, the Constitution and conservative principles. But over the last year, the left has finally noticed, and now that he’s running for U.S. Senate, they’ve made him a target. The Arizona Republic launches almost daily attacks on him. It’s a joke that the local editors and reporters sit every morning and discuss who will write the latest hit and what it will be about.
Was approved Mark Levin, who told him, “You have guts.” Sean Hannity has all but endorsed him, frequently inviting him on his show now that the left has put a target on his back. He has enough name recognition that he could defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, whom MSM described as one of the five weakest Democratic senators in Congress.
The level of principled work Brnovich has done while in office is astounding. He already has four lawsuits – yes, four and he’s leading them – against the Biden administration over illegal immigration. He defended two Arizona election integrity laws all the way to the Supreme Court and won Brnovich v. DNC earlier this year. He repeatedly approached Maricopa County supervisors to thwart auditing of ballots in the 2020 election, staunchly advocating for Senate Republicans.
He was the first person in the country to do so sue Biden on his vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees and followed with a letter he wrote to other attorneys general. He and several other attorneys general defendant Biden’s executive order on the “social cost of carbon,” which he essentially sneaks into the Green New Deal without having to go through Congress.
He is defendant substantial technology, filed content of the lawsuit against the restrictions introduced by Governor Doug Ducey in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic and released opinion stating that churches have the right to remain open during Covid-19. He he testified during an IRS hearing to support Trump’s final rule prohibiting the IRS from possessing information about nonprofit donors.
He filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court in support of David Daleiden, who is being wrongfully prosecuted for exposing Planned Parenthood. He filed another Supreme Court brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, defending Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, going further than many have done in calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.
He led an amicus curiae meeting with other Supreme Court attorneys general in New York Rifle and Pistol v. Corlette, which challenges a New York law that allows possession of guns only for indispensable purposes. Gun experts say this case could be bigger than District of Columbia v. Heller. Led a successful amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit opposing California’s ban on high-capacity magazines. He offered two comments opposing Biden’s continued ATF rules ghost weapons and make it hard for disabled people to exploit them obtain harnesses for exploit with weapons.
He defendant the Biden administration over a requirement of the American Rescue Plan Act that prohibits states from cutting taxes for four years. Led an amicus curiae brief at the Supreme Court in support of Americans for Prosperity, which successfully obtained a California statute requiring the disclosure of the identities of donors who give more than $5,000 to a failed charity.
Along with other attorneys general, he defendant Biden on his decision to extend federal anti-discrimination laws to transgender people, which will impact what bathrooms they exploit and what sports they play.
Locally he threatened sue the city of Tucson over the vaccine mandate, so they dropped it. He defendant ASU to enter into a sweetheart deal with the hotel so it could avoid paying property taxes. filed an amicus curiae application in the case of A successful lawsuit filed by The Goldwater Institute against the City of Peoria for violating the gift clause of the Arizona Constitution by providing information materials to a private university.
The list of arguments he defends is long, such as Arizona’s up-to-date law prohibiting the abortion of children solely because of their disability. He defended Arizona’s ban on critical race theory and mandatory masks in schools in court. He defended an Arizona law prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being invested in companies that boycott Israel and filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a similar law in Arkansas.
Brnovich is fighting two billionaires who are trying to buy the election in the primary elections. One of them is Fortune 500 CEO Jim Lamon, who has no track record to speak of. He faced criticism for accepting Covid-19 relief funds, although he returned them after publicly disclosing them.
Out-of-state Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel finances one of his employees, Blake Masters, with $10 million to run the business. Masters, who also has no track record in politics, tried to portray Brnovich with the baseless claim that he is not aligned enough with Trump, but Thiel also never funds Trump (until started running) J.D. Vance for the Senate in Ohio with $10 million. $10 million is the most money anyone has ever donated to a Senate race.
Brnovich does not have the support of police and fire unions because he headed the Center for Constitutional Governance at the Goldwater Institute, which often sued unions. But Republicans know his record, as a recent poll showed double numbers ahead of their opponents. Democrats are terrified because he’s a real conservative with a history, not just RINO talk.
Disclaimer: The author worked with Mark Brnovich in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in the early 2000s before becoming Attorney General.
