CAMPAIGN PREVIEW: Fontes, Kolodin Frame SOS Race as Election Trust Battle

Arizona voters will choose between two sharply different approaches to election administration when Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes faces Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin in November.

The state’s Aug. 6 canvass of the primary election formally advanced the candidates to the November 3 2026, general election. Green Party candidate Duwayne Collier also qualified for the contest, although the Arizona Green Party lists him as a candidate it “actively opposed” during its endorsement process.

Kolodin, an attorney and Arizona Freedom Caucus member, defeated former Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda for the GOP nomination. Fontes, who voters elected secretary of state in 2022, did not face a Democratic primary opponent.

Although other statewide contests have attracted recent polling, no publicly released survey has tested the general-election field for secretary of state. The lack of polling leaves the race’s opening position uncertain in a state that has repeatedly split its votes between Democratic and Republican candidates.

The road to the White House runs directly through the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.”–Alexander Kolodin

Kolodin has presented the office as nationally consequential because Arizona could again help decide the presidency in 2028.

“The road to the White House runs directly through the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office,” Kolodin told KJZZ before the primary.

Arizona’s 15 counties perform much of the direct work of conducting elections, but the secretary of state serves as the state’s chief elections officer. The office maintains the statewide voter-registration system, certifies statewide results, and helps develop the Elections Procedures Manual governing how counties administer elections.

Kolodin has made election law a central part of his legislative career. He sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment increasing voter-identification requirements, which will appear before voters in November. Critics contend that its provisions could undermine Arizona’s widely used early-voting system. Kolodin has rejected that characterization, saying his measure “does not crush mail voting.”

His legal record will also remain an issue. Kolodin participated in lawsuits challenging the 2020 and 2022 election results. Courts rejected the claims, and the State Bar of Arizona placed his law license on probation and required him to complete ethics-related programs. Kolodin has said the complaints against him were politically motivated.

Fontes, a former Maricopa County recorder, is campaigning on his administrative experience and defense of Arizona’s existing election system. He recently endorsed Gov. Katie Hobbs’ creation of a bipartisan elections task force involving state, legislative, and county officials.

“Voter confidence is paramount,” Fontes said in an official statement.

The candidates are also differ over relations with the Trump administration and access to voter information. Fontes resisted a Justice Department demand for portions of Arizona’s voter-registration records that are confidential under state law. A federal judge rejected the administration’s attempt to obtain the protected information.

Kolodin criticized Fontes’ handling of the dispute during the Republican primary. However, when pressed about what he would do, Kolodin said he also would not provide confidential voter records without a court order.

The race could also turn on disputes over proof of citizenship, voter-list maintenance, polling place observers, and the authority of county officials. Kolodin argues that Fontes has exceeded his legal authority through the Elections Procedures Manual. Fontes and his allies counter that Republican proposals could restrict lawful voting and politicize routine election administration.

Fontes has also faced questions about overseeing an election in which he is a candidate. He has declined to recuse himself, noting that previous Arizona secretaries of state continued performing their official duties while seeking reelection.

“No secretary has ever recused for that purpose, and that won’t start now,” Fontes told Capitol Media Services. He said staff handles political complaints without his involvement.

The election will carry one major structural change. Beginning with the next administration, Arizona’s new lieutenant governor—not the secretary of state—will stand first in the line of gubernatorial succession. That leaves the secretary of state contest more squarely focused on election policy, voter data, and administration of the 2028 presidential election.