An Arizona columnist is pushing back with critical remarks about Gov. Doug Ducey's support of Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Ariz.) following her appearance at the America First Political Action Conference.
In a blistering op-ed published by Arizona Central, columnist EJ Montini highlighted the disturbing connection between Rogers, Nick Fuentes, and the Republican governor. Starting with Rogers' ties to Fuentes, Montini highlighted the latest event to take place.
The controversial event, which took place last week, was organized by Fuentes, a white nationalist widely known and condemned for his "Holocaust-denying" rhetoric, boasted a number of known conspiracy theories and far-right extremists. In fact, Rogers also found herself at the center of controversy after referring to white nationalists as "patriots." To make matters worse, she has long been an admirer of Fuentes and even publicly expressed gratitude toward him on Twitter.
Montini went on to explain Ducey's ties to Rogers. When Rogers was on the campaign trail, Ducey's political action committee (PAC) put forth approximately $500,000 toward Rogers' election. Montini offered a scathing assessment of Rogers describing her as "a certified conspiracy kook. Election denier. Member of the Oath Keepers, whose head honcho has been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection."
He also suggested that Ducey's support of her raises questions about his core beliefs as she has had no issue supporting a known racist. When asked if he continues to support Rogers, Montini noted that he pivoted saying:
“What I need as a governor are governing majorities so that I can pass dollars into our social safety net so we can provide programs like this that will help children from all over our state … [and so] we can pass budgets that will put $8.6, $8.7 billion additional dollars into K-12 education.”
And he added, “So that’s what I’ve wanted to do, is move my agenda forward. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, and [Rogers] is still better than her opponent, Felicia French.”
According to Montini's assessment, the truth lies more in what Ducey did not say as opposed to what he said.