mark finchem is most vocal about it. >> we have more questions than answers. that's why i call it irregularities instead of fraud. >> reporter: he is running for secretary of state, a job that would put him in charge of elections ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign. his democratic opponent worries about what could happen if finchem wins and donald trump runs again for president. >> he may not certify an election that donald trump doesn't win in 2024 as well. >> is there anything to think that mark finchem would not finalize the votes. >> it's about were there votes cast outside of the law? did the counties follow election process in the law? if they did, let the chips fall where they may. but if they didn't, and somebody has an objection, that's why we have the courts. >> reporter: by a 4-1 ratio, arizona republicans forever officials who say president biden didn't win in 2020 to those who say he did. another issue on voters' minds, abortion after a judge here reinstated a 19th century law that ends virtually all abortion access. >> leave women's bodies al

i'm not out looking for a fight with mark finchem, but i know mark finchem and frankly in my opiniongerous man. we don't want him at the helm of the elections. >> it's just stunning, politics aside a reasonable person looking at the election of 2020 and all the recounts and all the audits, legit and even the ridiculous audits all have shown the same thing. there was no widespread fraud there are paper ballots backing up all of these votes it's remarkable that this has taken hold it's just insane. >> mr. cooper one of the things about the constitution that's critical it's a paper, it's a paper ballot in a way as well. but the thing that makes it work is that i can look at someone who poses my point of view and says that the consensus that we can reach as americans is what keeps our country together. if we have the capability to come to a consensus on an issue. pick an issue, some we won't, but that respect for other people is what really makes a constitution work. and this illustrates that for some that this isn't about building unity in a country it's about destroying and sanitizing

mark finchem is most vocal about it. >> we have more questions than we have answers.hat's why they're called irregularities, instead of fraud. >> reporter: he's running for secretary of state, a job that would put him in charge of elections ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign. his democratic opponent, adrian fontes, worries about what could happen if finchem wins, and donald trump runs again for election. >> he may not certify an election that donald trump doesn't win in 2024, as well. >> reporter: is there any reason to think mark finchem would do something to not certify results if donald trump doesn't win arizona? >> it's not about donald trump winning or losing. it's about, were there votes cast outside of the law? did the counties follow election process and the law? if they did, let the chips fall where they may. but if they didn't, and somebody has an objection? that's why we have a legislature and that's why we have the courts. >> reporter: by a 4-1 ratio, arizona republicans prefer officials who say president biden didn't win in 2020, to those who say he

there's a lot of them, including secretary of state candidate mark finchem, who as a reminder, try toended the capital insurrection, and it's a self identified member of the oath keepers militia. there is another battleground state with a danger democracy on the ballot, nevada. trump endorsed secretary of state candidate jim marchant made this pledge on saturday. >> so, we have something in common, president trump and i lost an election in 2020 because of a rigged election. and when i'm secretary of state of nevada, we are gonna fix it, and when my coalition of secretary of state candidates around the country get elected, we are gonna fix the whole country. president trump is gonna be president again in 2024. >> that coalition is his america first slate of candidates, to oversee elections, a group that includes mark finchem, and trump's pick for secretary of state in michigan, christina karamo. and it's not just secretary of state candidates. the maga republicans running for governor in -- kari lake and dog master are also lined with this group. revealing the existence of his crew at

so, i will oppose mark finchem. and when it comes from carey like, i need to hear from her that she will certify the election and uphold the democracy. -- to me, that is even more pathetic than the folks who are genuine and extreme. >> there is somebody who is doing something about it, republican adam kinzinger. he's endorsing democrats. that are running against election deniers. you think that will make a difference? he is helping them raise money. >> i do. because look, the secretary of state races, all of the time they fly under the radar. they're not well funded. and that is why i started the american sos project back in april because i saw this threat and a number of us saw this threat. we had jim -- the republican nominee in nevada, who just this past week, stood up with donald trump at a rally and basically said, when my coalition of secretaries of state get elected, we are going to ensure that donald trump becomes the next president. mark finchem as stated earlier is a threat to our democracy. he is an oath

adrian fontes challenging mark finchem for a powerful oversight election office in arizona joins me nexts really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx®. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. ♪limu emu & doug♪ it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so yo

still, widespread fraud is mark finchem's charge. >> when you steal something, that's not really a wint's a fraud. >> that was in washington the day before the attack on the capitol, which finchem describes this way. >> this entire j-6 crap was manufactured to create a narrative that there was an assault on the capitol. this fits into the marxist ideology of how do you go to one-party rule. >> today finchem is running neck and neck with his democratic opponent, adrian fontes who helped lead the 2020 election in maricopa county. >> we are far too divided away from each other based on lies and conspiracies, and we as election administrators across arizona have to do a better job showing folks that the system is quite good. >> i'd like to see a world where it's easy to vote but hard to cheat. >> we asked finchem for credible proof of fraud. he raised not evidence but those questions from the state senate audit. next finchem told us about a mysterious post-election e-mail which he featured in a rally. >> where we had a whistle-blower who sent an e-mail not just to the doj but to every sing

arizona's republican secretary of state mark finchem praising the group at the time. >> automatic of the people who have contributed to this effort, they are american heroes because they are saving the republic from itself. >> reporter: but the republican attorney general this month referred it to the fbi and the irs, his office writing that the group has, quote, not provided us any information, evidence of election fraud in arizona. at the same time, arizona's secretary of state's office has referred to six incidents of potential voter intimidation in these parking lots to the fbi for investigation. some individuals have been armed and masked. >> they're going to have people parked out there watching you and they're going to follow you to your car and get your license plate. >> reporter: what does intimidation mean? >> there's no objective it is for intimidation, but it's been the combination of a number of different circumstances come together and create an overall feeling that makes the voter deterred from wanting to vote. >> reporter: lake on thursday now urging those watching th

even among this group, mark finchem stands out. he continues to deny the legacy of president biden's victory and the results of the 2020 election. earlier this, year mark finchem introduced a bill in the state legislator to decertify the results of the 2020 election, from three of arizona's largest counties. finchem, also by the way, attended the stop the steal rally in washington d.c. on january 6th. he was seen outside of the capital, as the insurrection was happening. now he is running a tight race for secretary of state. arizona's top election officials and the executive who's first in line for the succession for governor. this is just important. we talked a lot -- we have talked more in the last couple of years about wreckage secretaries of state and why they are important in the administration of election but in arizona, there is no lieutenant governor. so the secretary of state, is actually even more important in the states. in the states as more important because it's close, and it is the beating heart of the insurrection a

you have a candidate for secretary of state, mark finchem.of whom had said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it. if you care about the survival of our republic, we cannot give people to power, we will not honor elections. >> and joining me now is katie hobbs, the current arizona secretary of state and the democratic candidate for governor. secretary hobbs, thank you so much for making time for us. i'd like to start with what we saw this last week. you had a federal judge in phoenix reject an attempt to stop these drop box watchers. aside from referring these cases to law enforcement, how else is your office assuring voters that they can safely cast their votes? >> i think the publicity, the level of publicity that these complaints have reached has helped to inform voters of the rights, make sure that they know that they are able to cast their ballots free from harassment and intimidation, and then that there is a recourse to report these incidents that -- and that there are other avenues that they can ret

mark finchem is a member of the oath keepers.d the effort to de-legitimize the votes in arizona. the guy is an election denier, he's made it very clear that the rule of law doesn't matter. he would be insane if he were telling the votes, that is a very, very dangerous proposition. >> it would be insane. it's not just the guy running for secretary of state, either. there is blake masters, the far-right trump endorsed peter thiel, hand-selected republican only four senate. he had this to say in a primary entitled, if we had a free and fair election, don trump would still be president today. >> i think trump won in 2020. maybe you disagree, but you have timid that this election was really messed up. we saw states change the rules at the last minute with mail-in ballots. >> that is all nonsense, trump lost. the number of mail-in ballots was because of the global pandemic. that is kind of rhetoric voters are getting from the republican running for senate. from kari lake, the trump backed republican who rhetorical nominee in arizona. l

and possibly the most dangerous is secretary of state candidate mark finchem, who is already suggestingictory in 2024. all three of these candidates have been endorsed by the big liar himself, donald trump. of course, arizona is one piece of this growing election denialism movement, and reuters now reports that there has been multiple incidents of voter intimidation throughout the country from an expanding army of election observers. many of them, recruited by prominent gop figures and activists echoing trump's election lies. just in time for the midterms. on that note, let's bring in adrienne -- the democratic candidate for arizona, and secretary of state. it's great to have you with us. as i just laid out, there is kind of alarming to see what has happened in your state. let's start with the comments we heard this morning, these alarming comments from kari lake, as well as masters, and your opponent, mark finchem, about not accepting the results of the elections. >> i can't hear the comments, but i'm here. >> can you hear me? >> i can hear you. >> let me repose that question. i was sa

that republican trend did it, mark finchem, as a staunch supporter of trump's big lie.he was at the rally on the ellipse on january 6th. he is one of the state representatives who sponsored legislation to throw election results in several arizona counties. his opponent, adrian fontes, was the -- in 2020, actually fought to defend the integrity of the election, you paid a price for. it fontes reported -- adrian fontes joins me now. there are new photos from arizona election officials showing two armed folks outside maricopa county's voting dropbox, arizona officials asked the justice department to investigate possible voter intimidation after a group of people followed and filmed a voter in maricopa county dropping off a ballot at a drop box. can you talk to us about the threats of intimidation, threats of violence you've seen, and experienced in arizona politics. sometimes, when we talk about threats in democracy, it gets really amorphous, and when you see people in tactical gear standing next to a drop box, it all of a sudden comes into focus. >> thanks to first for ha

every republican needs to be asked, will you support mark finchem?rrectionists in nevada, michigan, and these other states? their only job is to count votes. no excuse for the ben sasse of the world. to oppose those folks, and are still being cowardly. i think that is the big test that, unfortunately, i think the republicans are going to fail. >> unfortunately. it is frightening, because, like you said, they will have to keep a lot of things in their heads, all at once. row is a huge issue. the cost of things, is a huge issue. this, whether we have a democracy, nothing else matters. if it's just an autocracy, that's it. that is tonight's read out. don't go anywhere. after a break, i am back with rachel maddow, nicole wallace, and many more of my msnbc colleague friends for a two-hour recap of today's dramatic january 6th hearings. you don't want to miss it, it will be great, and we will see you in the nearby studio very soon. ver soon it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that

mark finchem, arizona's republican secretary of state candidate, tweeted "watch all drop boxes, period. save the republic." >> threats to harass you online but threats thysicall h you. >> reporter: stephen rher is the mopa count con charge v regation iountin voting. his ownleion ppal denier >> it'sll frustrating pngly do it to satisfy a selfish desire for political gain or for pecuniary gain. >> reporter: early voters now crowd polls across america. over the weekend, 80,000 georgians voted in a single day compared to the same day four years ago, an increase of 159%. other states like north carolina and florida report similar surges for many reasons, including the fight to control the u.s. senate. these ten states feature dog fights for senate seats. one of them, pennsylvania. cbs news has learned behind the scenes, former president trump has encouraged state lawmakers to repeal a law that allows all voters to mail in ballots. the sheriff here has been looking into reports that early voters are being harassed, and he just referred two cases to prosecutors for criminal charges. norah. >>

mark finchem, arizona's republican secretary of state candidate, tweeted, "watch all drop boxes.the republic." >> threats to harass you online, but also threats to physically harm you. >> reporter: stephen richer is the maricopa county recorder in charge of voter registration and in this room, counting early voting. this republican's appalled by his own party's election deniers. >> it's especially frustrating when people knowingly do it to satisfy a selfish desire for political gain or for pecuniary gain. >> reporter: early voters now crowd polls across america. over the weekend, 80,000 georgians voted in a single day, compared to the same day four years ago, an increase of 159%. other states, like north carolina and florida, report similar surges for many reasons, including the fight to control the u.s. senate. these 10 states feature dogfights for senate seats. one of them, pennsylvania. cbs news has learned behind the scenes, former president trump has encouraged state lawmakers to repeal a law that allows all voters to mail in ballots. the sheriff here has been looking into r

that would be mark finchem the guy who was at the capitol on january 6th. >>> joining me now here in phoenix is donna brazile and mark short, thank you for making the trek out here. mark, what does it say about the republican party that a guy like rusty bowers, the speaker of the house here, lifelong conservative, is exiled from his party because he will not lie about the 2020 election? >> i think that rusty is an admirable public servant and he served the people of arizona well. i'm sorry to not see him in office. i also think republicans are going to win arizona and they're going to win in november because it's a referendum on joe biden and what you're seeing here in arizona is record numbers of illegal immigrants last month crossing the border. 2.5 million over the last 12 months. inflation at a 40-year high. those issues that are driving this midterm elections. that's why republicans will win in arizona and across the country. >> we'll get to that issue set. the issues seem to be favoring republicans right now, another part of the poll that i want to bring up right now, we asked a

in arizona, mark finchem is more than a point ahead of adrian fontez.da, jim merchant is up by ten points. i should mention that marchant's election has gone so far that he's now alleging that nancy pelosi and adam schiff somehow stole their respective elections for real. >> these politicians keep winning elections, how is that possible? it's not. jim marchant is the fighter that voters need. >> saying this out loud as part of a strategy, all three of those election deerns, karamo, finchem and marchant have been endorsed by president trump. and one who may actually win her races, minnesota's kim crockett, trailing steve simon by a fuel seven points but today, two weeks before the election, she finally got her trump endorsement. that would mean four trump supporters running key elections by the time trump is on the ballot in 2024 which is concerning. what makes it decidedly bonkers that even if they don't win, they may try to stick around, "rolling stone" reported this weekend that president trump has been holding in-person meetings for more than a month

this is republican nominee mark finchem, who threw his tinfoil hat into the ring for that position. fi finchem was also outside the capitol on january 6th, and he's proudly running on a platform of refusing to count the ballots that go for candidates he doesn't like. >> knowing what we know today, there are certain counties that should have been set aside as irredeemably compromised. maricopa county was one of them. >> maricopa county, of course, you remember that exhaustive far right partisan audit was conducted there. that's where the cyber ninjas were literally holding up ballots looking for bamboo fibers -- yes, bamboo, i said. this is part of this deranged conspiracy theory that chinese ballots with bamboo, of course, had been shipped into arizona. now, look, i can see where maybe some of you at home are thinking, these people aren't in office right now, and they never will be. but, a, oh, they absolutely could win given the economic head winds. and b, this anti-democracy insanity, it's already infiltrated the same halls of capitol hill where the rioters once stood. after she w

arizona today, you have a candidate for governor in kari lake, candidate for secretary of state in mark finchemboth of whom has said, this is no secret , that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it. both of them have looked at 2020, the fact that the election in arizona was carried out according to state law, that there were accounts, recounts, audits. that there were multiple court cases and rulings all of which went against the former president. the election itself was certified, and the arizona electors correctly certified for biden. they looked at the law, the facts and the rulings of the courts and they said it doesn't matter to them. and if you care about democracy, and the survival of our republic, then we all have to understand that we cannot give people power who have told us they will not honor elections. elections are the foundation of our republic. and peaceful transfers of power are the foundation of our republic. we must have elected officials in both parties who understand and honor that duty. what happens in arizona is not just important for arizon

was one poll taken about two weeks, he did lead, mark finchem the republican, did lead in a poll.ation in arizona. and in pennsylvania, doug mastriano, a republican nominee, who echoes dug a little trump's claims about the 2020 election. republicans were democrats were also hoping he would get denominational he would be week nominee candidate. the polling seems to indicate that is correct. josh shapiro with a ten-point lead, there hasn't been much sign towards mastriano, in the senate race in pennsylvania, where mehmet oz, running against john fetterman is much closer than the governor's race. it does appear certainly according to the polling that mastriano for that position and some others he has taken has put him out of step with the voters there in pennsylvania. >> it's an amazing study because kari lake had a job like ours before she went into politics. she's very good on television. she's literally a television professional, and in some ways, it's almost running an experiment about how good a candidate is. different states, different electorates, different records, but you do

this is all coming from the rhetoric of kari lake and mark finchem, trying to continue this lie thatrhetoric, this increased potential violence is being caused by those two candidates in particular because they're just stoking their own base with these -- with these lies. and, you know, they're responsible for this. >> so you're saying they're responsible for the environment or they're responsible for what their supporters go and do if there's a connection -- >> it's not a bunch of democrats sitting outside of a drop box with masks and weapons and, you know, staring at people as they put their ballots down. it's caused by election denialists who are trying to suck up to donald trump. >> we'll say let's wait for the investigation and see what police learn about the motive of this person -- >> i'm talking about the environment in general. specifically, the fact that there's voter intimidation happening right now. >> let's talk about these people sitting by these drop boxes. the arizona chapter of the league of women voters, they've filed this lawsuit claiming intimidation of voters. in

today, you have a candidate for governor in kerry lake, a candidate for secretary of state in mark finchem, both of whom have said this isn't a prize, it's not a secret, they both said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it. if you care about democracy, and you care about the survival of our republic, then you need to understand we all have to understand that we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections. >> she told us she was going to do this. she's naming names. what's her impact on the conversation or any of the individual candidates that she might be talking about? is there one, do we think? >> well, first of all, it's just striking that she is doing this. once again, choosing patriotism over party. that's pretty unique in today's washington. certainly she is one of only a couple republican voices, adam kinzinger another who stood up to donald trump and his big lie, both serving on the january 6th committee, which will have its next hearing next week. now she's playing this role on the campaign trail where she's goi

in arizona, the election denier mark finchem is more than a point ahead of his democratic opponent adrianthat nevada, the election denier jim marchant is up by eight points, which is well beyond the margin of error. i should remark that he has gone so far, that he's now alleging that nancy pelosi and adam schiff, some how school their elections, for real. >> these politicians keep winning reelection. how is that possible? it's not. tim marchand, is the fighter nevada needs. this is stuff that republicans are saying out loud, as part of a strategy. and all three of those election deniers, karamo, finnstrom, and march and have been endorsed by president trump. the other election denier who might actually win her secretary of state races, is minnesota republican kim crockett, the latest polls have her trailing her democratic opponent steve saved by a full ten points, but today, two weeks before the election, she finally got her trump endorsement. that could mean for election denying trump supporters in charge of running key purple state elections, by the time trump himself is potentially mik

you see the secretary of state's race between the election denier mark finchem, and adrian fontes, maricopa county recorder who oversaw the county's election for a number of years. it's a moment here where when you talk to folks in the state on both sides of the aisle, it's a big question mark. it's too exactly what turnout is going to look like. it's tnot only republican turno, democrat turnout. but to what extent those independent voters, even some of those republicans who showed a willingness to vote, for the likes of joe biden, mark kelly, kristen sinema in the past are going to push back against republican party again here in 2022. i want to let you hear from democrat katie hobbs, wheat i talked with her earlier today, i asked her what are closing messages here heading into the final week. take a listen. >> this is a race, not about democrats and republicans but sanity over chaos. and my opponent has no qualifications to lead the state. she showed over and over again, she's more interested in pleasing the former president that working for arizonans. the fact that her response to anythi

we're talking about mark finchem, the republican nominee for secretary of state which is, of course,e of overseeing elections. and trump says if he wins he wants to use that office as unilateral authority over state election equipment to require that all future ballots to be counted by hand. for an indicator here, arizonans cast more than 3. 4 million ballots in the 2020 presidential election, a hand count, what could possibly go wrong? this is what happened in one about a county during this year 's primaries, according, again, to reuters. people with night vision goggles stood outside the register building and and their cameras at election workers counting votes on primary night in june. nevada, of course, one of the key states for party control of the u.s. senate and republican candidate for senate the former state co-chair for trump who filed lawsuits to overturn the 2020 election results. he could potentially flip that seat out of democratic hands. then there's north carolina, another key state, again, in terms of party control of the senate. currently one of the closest races in

blake masters is predicting his election will be stolen and mark finchem says he will not certify the 2024. joining us now, the democratic nominee for arizona's secretary of state, adrian fontaz. how do you run against disinformation? when you are talking to voters and you're trying to help them understand fact from fiction. often a lie spreads the same way that the truth spreads. the lie has spread pretty far and pretty wide because the folks who have been doing it are speaking loudly. those who have endorsed my campaign for arizona secretary of state. >> you run an everyday campaign and you were talking about the dangers to democracy, the dangers to people who don't believe in elections anymore. you were saying people aren't aware of how dangerous this is. talk about that. >> the nature is american politics and campaigns. our campaign is responsible for spreading the message of truth and the fact that elections can be trusted. when you take a step back, what they're doing is dividing us against ourselves as americans because what they're saying is american people, who are the ones t

in arizona during which she urged residents not to vote for fellow republicans carrie lake and mark finchem. like is running for governor, finch it for secretary of state. both have been staunch election deniers. despite the fact that trump's victory in arizona has been declared multiple times after the states recounts in their audits. the thing is, the republican party willing we chose this pa your all. when presented with other options and how to proceed to the party, they chose trump and his megalomaniacal bid to hang on to power. that was clearly reflected in the outcome of this year's primaries. according to a new washington post analysis, 299 of the republican parties candidates for congress and top state executive positions are election deniers who cast doubts about the legitimacy of joe biden's presidential victory. that is, by the way, more than half of all republicans running four key positions this year. of those 299 election denying candidates, that's them on the screen, 173 of them are favored to win their race this year. well 52 others are on competitive races this could've be

mark finchem is the republican. no clear leader there. statistically that's a i too but you see the republican on top 49-45. nevada cisco aguilar against jim marchant. a statistical tie. both of those republican candidates, marchant and finchem are election deniers. marchant said he would not have certified the results for joe biden. finchem said joe biden lost arizona. neither of those things -- joe biden won them both. voters have a big decision to make about election integrity, about who you want counting the ballots in your state. >> and if the results on election night are like they are in the poll you're going to have these two election deniers overseeing the election process in these two battleground states. we asked folks about how they think their vote will be handled and you see there's more concern among republicans that somehow it won't be a fair count, let's say, than you see that among democrats or independents. so that obviously -- their election denialism has traction inside the republican party. >> it's in the bloodstream

she needs the likes of mark finchem over secretary of state, an attorney general to be able to argue cases on behalf of the state of arizona. that's where you see both sides here. making their last. plays especially in the greater phoenix area. maricopa county, 60% of the electorate will come from, we'll be hanging -- course of the night next nine days, now he has been. >> vaughn hillyard. thank you, elon, appreciate. it we're also tracking key house races that can determine the balance of power. a new report out from nbc news, showing democrats are ramping up the spending in blue districts that the president won back in 2020. districts that republicans are now targeting. i want to bring in one of the authors of that piece, then cameras, our deputy political director, van, thank you for joining us on this. let's talk through if we can add, some reporting here. what are democrats spending the most? >> we're seeing, obviously, the battlegrounds been the battleground in the races that continue to be front of mind in places like michigan, wisconsin. places that have been on the battlegro

the state secretary of state nominee mark finchem. and the attorney general nominee abe holiday. he's running for office for the first time, he also continues to deny that joe biden legitimately won the 2020 election, something that was proved over and over again. sometimes referencing the false and debunked claims made in a conspiracy theory film in 2000 mules, which i guarantee you you don't have enough time in your life to watch. beyond that, he's also explicitly saying that he would not have signed off on the results of the 2020 election if he were the attorney general in charge that year. listen to what they tell you, joining me is chris mays. she's also the professor at arizona state university. great to see you, thanks for being with us. >> thanks for being in arizona, the place where america and its democracy will be decided. >> that's the thing, that's what people need to think about. your eyes need to be on this state and pennsylvania, michigan, they are really serious. even in arizona, where midterm elections don't draw as many people out as they should, they're gonna

encouraged this behavior, including the far-right election denying gop nominee for secretary of state, mark finchem essentially okay, writing in a 14 page ruling that, quote, the court cannot craft an injunction without violating the first amendment. this judge, michael liberty, you will be shocked to hear, is a hard-core republican. a trump appointee and former general counsel to none other than arizona republican doug doocy. he is basically saying these ballot watches actions are covered under the constitution. how convenient. this is where we are today. with close elections in swing states and folks being intimidated at drop boxes. how does that equal a free and fair election? joining me now on the ground in arizona's representative mondaire jones of new york. congressman, thank you for coming back on the show. you called for the freedom to vote act, the john lewis voting rights act, the two voting rights acts which has been stalled in congress. you mentioned it included a provision to criminalize intimidation of people at the polls. talk to us about the urgency of this moment with what we are s

the detroit free press reporting this -- alongside one other member of the group, mark finchem, during deemed an anti-lgbtq hate group by the southern poverty law center. the perilous its support and cast the races as a spiritual battle for the future of this country. talk more about this if you can, tiffany? >> the ad in michigan uses christina colorado's own words to let voters know, not only the extreme positions she holds but the conspiracy theories that she holds. because they're actually so unbelievable that unless you show a visual of her in her own words, it's hard to believe. but she believes that the democratic party is a satanic agenda, and is absolutely pushing to overturn the 2020 election, and future elections. in this case we're actually trying to educate voters about our position using her own words because they really need to see what's at stake here, we have one of the best secretary of states in the country in johnson but seen in michigan. we know michigan was the focus of so much of the trump campaign's attacks, after the 2020 election. and we saw both attorney gene

. >> reporter: republican secretary of state nominee mark finchem urged followers on social media to boxes and made a conspiracy reference to democratic donor george soros. >> this is why we have elections, to avoid these sort of confrontations. it's been normalized in some way over the past few years. but we're not going to normalize it here in maricopa county. i encourage people, let's take the temperature down. >> kyung lah joins us from mesa, arizona. i understand the sheriff of maricopa county has weighed in on these incidents as well. >> reporter: he says that basically this doesn't meet a threshold for a crime. he was specifically asked, what can you do about this? and he says he's going to expend resources. i can see two sheriffs patrol vehicles sitting nearby. they are keeping watch on this. there are undercover deputies here as well. but that there is a right to bear arms here in arizona, and the tactical gear, while he considers it very unfortunate, it is clothing of their choosing. and what is still happening out here, anderson, is this is the box over my right shoulder,

i mean, he seems in the mark finchem category of, like, fully outright big lie adhere to it. >> well,hat jim marchant makes finchem looks like a statement, chris. i mean, he's so far out there in the stuff that he's said. i mean, he's fully into the qanon, he's gone to the mike lindell, my pillow, the election was stolen conventions. he has said that his own race was stolen in 2020 with donald trump's race. he's said all of this crazy stuff. he's thoroughly unqualified, and he has a chance, as you just pointed out, to win. it truly is frightening because no one, i shouldn't say no one, but most people don't know what the secretary of state does. i saw a couple of focus groups about a month and a half ago not only did no one knows who the candidates were, they didn't know what the secretary of state does, and the pivotal role that the secretary of state plays in the election process. >> yeah, this is a real weakness, i think, across the country, right? that people don't really know what secretary of state's new. and also, if you don't have people who are existentially opposed to, like,

cheney appears in political ads targeting the states top political denier including kari lake and mark finchem brand of politics remind some people here in arizona of the late john mccain, widely remembered as a patriot and a staunch conservative. also a man of integrity who was a trump critic until his death in 2018. in my conversation with arizona voters i asked him about cheney's and whether her actions speak to them as arizonans. >> she wants to save the republic. she is putting country first. which is different than putting america first. i know that that is maybe a distinction without a difference but to me it is different. country first means you're reporting the greater good before anything. america first, when i hear that, i hear i'm gonna come to the cut a little on. give me jimmy. we are better than everybody. that is not how i think liz cheney is handling this. i think she is trying to save the republic for us before she thinks about her party. that is very much abandoned her. she stood up to lies and disinformation that is pulling at the fabric of the country. >> she is trying to

and there's arizona, where election denying cand democrat mark finchem routinely traffics in anti-semitic tropes including the now familiar right wing tack of invoking the name of billionaire george soros including in a tweet over the weekend defending the action of poll watchers in arizona. with just 15 days until the midterms we're seeing in real time that arizona is a microcosm for election lies, spawning voter suppression and intimidation. maricopa county elections department confirmed two armed individuals in tactical gear and masks stood watch over a drop box in mesa, arizona, over the weekend. not intimidating at all. officials are warning about the prospect of things getting even worse, saying they're fielding voter intimidation complaints which as far as the maga crowd is concerned is very much the point. arizona officials are warning of more uninformed vigilantes and numerous reports of a growing army of self-proclaimed election observers, recruited by right-wing groups promoting the former president's big lie. they're abetted by election deniers like republican candidate for go

. >> we begin to look at defining -- mark finchem, urged parlors -- to watch all drop boxes. a conspiracy reference to democratic donor george soros. >> this is why we have elections, to avoid the sort of confrontations. it's been normalized in some way over the past few years. but we're not gonna normalize it here in america but ghani. i encourage people to take the temperature down. >> our reporter joins us from mesa, arizona. -- >> he says that basically this doesn't meet up threshold for a crime. he was asked what can you do about this and he says he's going to expand resources, i see two sheriff patrol vehicles sitting nearby. the keeping watch on. that's our deputies here as well but there is a right to bear arms here in arizona. the tactical gear that we consider that unfortunate, it is clothing of their choosing. and what is still happening out here, anderson, this is the box over my right shoulder, and knock you, as we see people vote but this is still continuing to see these folks on these launch airs it doesn't appear any of this particular group is armed. that's u