These Democrats are challenging state legislators who rejected 2020 election results

Alan Smith ran as a write-in Democratic candidate in 2022 because he wanted answers from his state senator, Jake Hoffman, one of the 11 Arizona Republicans who signed a fake electoral certificate declaring that Donald Trump had won the state in 2020 after President Biden won the state by 10,457 votes.

"I did not want him unopposed. I wanted them to spend some money. I wanted him to have to put up a fight. I wanted him to try to explain himself," Smith said.

He didn't get that satisfaction, in large part because Hoffman did not debate him, so in 2024 Smith, 70, of Mesa is running again as the official Democratic nominee in the deep-red Republican district.

Smith is one of dozens of people across the country who are running longshot campaigns for local and state office in an effort to oust Republican elected officials who baselessly question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, or who have interfered with certifying subsequent elections.

Hoffman has since been indicted by a state grand jury for signing the fake electoral certificate, which was sent to former Vice President Mike Pence in order to sow doubt about the results of the Electoral College's vote to certify Joe Biden's victory. The "fake elector" scheme, which involved officials in several states, was intended to help Trump overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Hoffman has pleaded not guilty and told the Arizona Republic the investigation was a "political witch hunt" and a "naked attempt to weaponize government and tamper with this November's presidential election."

“I've heard we don't stand any chance to win out here as Democrats in this district, but I am a firm believer that we need to contest every race,” Smith said. He said the indictment improves his odds in the race.

Hoffman is one of 18 people indicted by a state grand jury as part of the Arizona attorney general's ongoing investigation into the "fake elector" plan. Last month Arizona Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen scheduled a Jan. 5, 2026, trial date for the defendants, who include former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Trump himself is listed in the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator.

One defendant has pleaded guilty, a second agreed to cooperate in exchange for having the charges dropped.

Hoffman did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment.

Smith gave a litany of other policy reasons for why he's challenging Hoffman, but the electoral certificate is the main driver, he said.

"He didn't even care how the people of Arizona had voted. He was going to say that Trump had won this state, even though all of their court cases, all of them had been dismissed," Smith said.

With Democrats down only one seat in the Arizona Senate, winning the historically Republican district, which includes part of Mesa and other suburbs east of Phoenix, could result in a tie between the parties in the chamber.

Smith won 33,000 votes, or 35%, when he ran as a write-in candidate against Hoffman in 2022. Hoffman received 60,000 votes, or about 65%. Smith said that outcome, and the charges brought against the fake electors, makes him believe he has a chance. He's not just reaching out to Democrats and independents, but Republican voters as well, Smith said.

"People are turned off by his fake elector scheme," Smith said. "Even the Republicans are turned off by Jake Hoffman here."

Smith said because of his age he won't run again if he loses, but that local Democrats have built a bench of people who are interested in running for the seat in the future.

Naming office holders who contest the election

Smith and Banks are just two of the dozens of candidates who are challenging the 334 public officials − from lieutenant governor to local boards that certify election results − in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin who have denied election outcomes, tried to overturn an election or made statements to undermine an election. Public Wise, a left-leaning nonprofit group that advocates for representative democracy, identified the officials earlier this year.

Several of the candidates USA TODAY spoke to acknowledged how unlikely it would be to win these seats, which are normally Republican-leaning, but they all said that challenging the incumbents is essential to hold them accountable.

"Having these folks run against election deniers also checks the election deniers," said Lauren Gepford, executive director of Contest Every Race, a group that works to ensure Democrats are on the ballot in as many contests as possible, which recently endorsed several of them. "Our theory is that they're going to be more reluctant to promote conspiracy theories around election denying and that they'll see it more as a losing issue, rather than one that they'll promote to appeal to their base."

In an effort to highlight the people challenging those local and state officials, earlier this month Contest Every Race endorsed 42 candidates in swing states who are challenging officials who dispute the results of the 2020 presidential election.

"For our first endorsements, we really wanted to focus on where there'd be the biggest electoral consequences, and we're really focused on those who are running against election deniers or in seats that have been held by election deniers, because we believe allowing those folks to go unchecked leads to more extremism," Gepford told USA TODAY.

Gepford, who was previously executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party, said Democrats had largely given up on difficult-to-win seats in order to focus resources on holding the seats they have and flipping easily winnable seats. Contest Every Race was created to counter that trend and build a bench of Democrats, and support, in difficult to win areas. The candidates they recruit to run at the local and state legislative levels get training, mentorship and financial support.

If Democrats aren't challenging them just because they represent very red districts, then what they are saying is going unchallenged or might not even be widely known, Gepford said.

"If you just think about what you've had on your ballot when somebody's running unopposed, do you hear about that election? No, not very much," she said. "But when there's two folks running, and there's actually a competition, there's going to be debate, articles, coverage, and the issues are so much more likely to come to light."

Refusing to certify

Joy Banks, 70, watched in horror when two Republican county supervisors in Cochise County, Arizona refused to certify the 2022 midterm election results despite the board of supervisors having no evidence of legitimate problems with the election count. The supervisors said they had concerns about the county's election equipment, which state officials had confirmed were tested and properly certified.

"It was unbelievable, and attention was so huge that we felt so helpless here. We felt totally helpless, like, isn't someone going to stand up and do something?" Banks said. "This absolutely upset me to the core."

After several weeks, a judge ordered Republican county supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd to certify the results. Both have been charged by Arizona’s attorney general with conspiracy and interfering with an election officer. Crosby and Judd both pleaded not guilty and recently pushed to have the charges dropped.

"The Republican Party in Cochise County has... just blew all the trust I ever had in them as actually being upright and able to follow the law," Banks said.

Banks had already held a nonpartisan position on the Huachuca City Council, and had thought before about running for a more prominent position.

As the southeastern Arizona county was thrust into the national spotlight, Banks said it felt like she had to run, even if it was "simply to make a statement, to be able to say the things that I have been able to say," in the campaign.

Now she is the Democratic nominee for the traditionally Republican-held 3rd district County Supervisor seat against a Republican and two independents. One of the independents is a popular former sheriff, and Banks said she hopes his involvement will split the Republican vote.

"My number one talking point, unfortunately, is, I'm going to obey the law," she said.

Crosby declined to comment. Judd did not respond to a request for comment.

More: Cochise County supervisors face a legal battle and possible fines. Who will pay for it?

The sparsely populated county stretching along the U.S.'s southern border is majority-Republican. Banks knew it was a long shot, but with Democrats feeling "super charged" in 2024, she's hopeful about her chances.

Even though Judd is not running for reelection, Crosby is expected to win reelection. Banks is vying for one of the other two positions.

Her opponent Frank Antenori told USA TODAY that the two Republican commissioners who tried to block certification might have caved to pressure in 2022, but it isn't right to paint him or all Republicans with the same broad brush. A former state senator, Antenori said he would follow the law.

"Had I been on the board at the time, I would have certified the canvas. It's that simple. The reality is, the law requires that unless there's a rampant example, a tangible, provable example of fraud," he told USA TODAY.

Jan. 6, 2021

High School civics teacher Cameron Schroy, 28, of Greencastle, Pa. grew increasing frustrated watching the actions of Doug Mastriano, the right-wing state senator who is known nationally for rejecting President Biden's 2020 victory in Pennsylvania.

Mastriano organized a lengthy public hearing on the accuracy of the election in 2020, which Trump's lawyers attended and Trump participated in remotely. He also helped organize the effort in Pennsylvania to send a fake slate of electors to Congress.

The state senator also attended Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6 2021, organized buses bringing rallygoers to Washington, and went to the Capitol during the hours rioters fought police for control of the Capitol building. He was scheduled to speak on the Capitol steps, but said the day after the riot that “when it was apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest, my wife and I left the area.”

This spring the Pennsylvania Senate ethics committee declined to investigate a complaint related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election brought against Mastriano by a fellow senator.

Mastriano was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor in 2022, but he still serves in the state Senate, and Schroy decided he could no longer teach his students about democracy without running to defend it himself.

"Being a civics teacher and someone who stands up and talks in front of students about democracy and the transition of power and the separation of powers, I couldn't stand idly by while the most dangerous member of the Pennsylvania State Senate went unchallenged," Schroy told USA TODAY. "He deserves to at least have his feet held to the fire and [be] held accountable for his actions on January 6."

The Franklin County Democratic Committee chairman stepped up to challenge Mastriano for Pennsylvania Senate when no other Democrat raised their hand.

"Systemic voter fraud is not an issue in the United States, and it's like you're protesting Santa Claus," Schroy said, of Trump and his allies disproved allegations that Biden benefited from illegal voting.

More: Far-right candidates struggled in midterm election. Who's to blame? Experts say Trump, GOP

Mastriano did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment.

Democrats consistently run in the district, which includes part of Adams and Franklin Counties in south central Pennsylvania despite Republican voters holding a majority. And with local grumbling about Mastriano's repeated efforts to win higher office, Schroy said he saw an opportunity.

"I think everyone in this country, whether it's an office for dog catcher up to the president of the United States, people deserve a choice on that ballot," Schroy said.

Schroy said believing that the 2020 election was stolen, when there is no evidence of widespread fraud or malfeasance should be disqualifying because public officials must be able to distinguish fact from fiction.

"If this is what you think about the election, when the facts are in front of you, what are you going to think about how to pay down the deficit?" Schroy said. "Are you just going to deny that tax revenues are too low and spending is too high? What are you going to do about all these other issues if you're just going to reject facts?"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats try longshot bids to challenge 2020 election skeptics