Arizona Republican Jim Lamon Turns on Trump, Bankrolls Campaign to Stop Him

A former Arizona state senate hopeful, who was part of a group of fake electors that signed papers falsely declaring Donald Trump had won the state in 2020, has been found to be bankrolling a Political Action Committee (PAC) which attacks the former president.

Jim Lamon, who lost the Arizona Senate primary in August 2022 to the Trump-endorsed candidate, Blake Masters, is the sole donor behind the Actions Speak Louder Than Tweets PAC, according to an expert's report.

The commitee has aired adverts in recent months attacking the former president for his previous endorsement of moderate Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, as well as his support for a national red flag, gun-confiscation scheme in 2018.

Campaign finance expert Rob Pyers said that Lamon has been the sole donor for the entire $24,000 in funds in the PAC's account, to which he has deposited money over a three-month period. The committee's website endorses Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Republican nomination and describes itself as "committed to winning in 2024."

Pyers is the research director for the non-partisan election guide California Target Book. In 2017, The Los Angeles Times described the subscription site as "one of the most trusted compendiums on state politics." He also frequently posts information about political funding via social media.

Newsweek contacted Lamon's office via email for comment on Thursday.

Lamon appears to be pushing to ensure Trump is not the next president, although previously he had been part of a group of false electors that claimed Trump had won Arizona in 2020, instead of the eventual winner, President Joe Biden.

Trump is currently the frontrunner to clinch the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, despite his ongoing legal issues that include speculation he is due to be indicted under Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, with federal prosecutors said to honing in on the fake electoral scheme as part of its expansive probe.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' office is reported to have also launched an investigation into the electoral move, although the inquiry is only said to be in its "fact-gathering" phase, Dan Barr, Mayes's chief deputy, told The Washington Post.

On 14 December, 2020, a group of 11 Republicans that included Lamon, Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward, and her husband Michael Ward, met to sign a document falsely declaring themselves the "duly elected and qualified electors" for the state and awarded Trump the 11 electoral votes.

Reacting to the claims that Lamon is funding the Actions Speak Louder Than Tweets PAC, former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and vocal Trump ally Kari Lake tweeted: "This is really unfortunate. I know Arizona and Arizona LOVES President Trump because he fights for We the People.

"I hate to see that Jim Lamon is behind this. Hopefully the Arizona GOP and [Arizona GOP Chairman] Jeff DeWit will denounce this behavior and distance themselves from this and get behind President Trump so we can Make America Great Again."

Lake's campaign team also criticized Lamon on Twitter, writing that "it's a shame that he no longer wants Trump to have his rightful second term in the White House."

In response to the tweet from Lake, who was endorsed by Lamon and Trump in the 2022 midterm election that she lost to Gov. Katie Hobbs, Twitter user K.T. Martin backed Lamon for no longer supporting Trump.

"He is allowed to dislike Trump. Not everyone has to want him to run again," Martin tweeted. "I voted for Trump in 2020, but I have no intention of voting for him again in a primary. At this point I know who I will vote for, but it won't be Trump."

Lamon was previously reported to be among a group of Trump supporters and Republican donors who attended an event hosted by Ron DeSantis three months prior to the Florida governor confirming his 2024 White House bid.

Also in attendance at the three-day event at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, Florida, was Mick Mulvaney, Trump's acting White House chief of staff who left the administration in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Captol building, and Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.