Highlights

Three Arizona statewide candidates may have unlocked more than $4.7 million in public campaign funding by submitting thousands of fraudulent $5 qualifying donations from voters who say they never gave a cent, according to an Arizona Mirror investigation published Tuesday.

The Mirror reviewed contribution slips filed with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office and found that the campaigns of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Risa Lombardo, Green Party secretary of state candidate Duwayne Collier, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Neely reported collecting Clean Elections qualifying contributions from nearly 4,000 of the same voters. More than 2,600 of those voters were listed as giving to all three candidates. The duplicated contributions across the three campaigns account for nearly 75% of the voters listed as giving qualifying contributions to the trio.

The Mirror attempted to contact more than 50 voters listed as having donated to all three candidates and found none who confirmed the contributions were legitimate. Six of those voters told the outlet directly that their names, addresses, and what appeared to be their signatures had been submitted on forms they never signed. Christopher Scott of Peoria, whose name appears on contribution slips dated Jan. 11 showing $5 donations to all three candidates, told the Mirror he had never in his lifetime made a political contribution and had never heard of any of the three candidates before being contacted by the outlet.

Several voters said they recalled signing a petition unrelated to any candidate, at a grocery store, marijuana dispensary parking lot, or concert, within the past year. Alysia Castro of Laveen told the Mirror she signed a petition in a Safeway parking lot in 2025 and confirmed the signature on the donation form appeared to be hers, though she had never signed any such form and had never donated to a political candidate. Campaign finance records corroborated that claim.

Tom Collins, executive director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, confirmed to the Mirror that the commission was already aware of and actively investigating the suspect qualifying contributions. Under state law, the commission can decertify a candidate, suspend funding, order repayment, or impose a penalty of up to $5,000 for statewide candidates. The Arizona Attorney General's Office told the Mirror that fraud is a class 4 felony.

Former Democratic Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Mirror the potential conduct was outrageous. "Obviously, you've got criminal activities, if it's proven," he said. "You also have just despicable fraud on the Clean Elections system. I mean, if people can get away with this, it makes the whole system look like it's not working."

The Clean Elections Act, approved by Arizona voters in 1998, requires participating candidates to forgo large donations and PAC money in exchange for fixed public funding, unlocked only after gathering a set number of $5 contributions from registered voters. In 2026, gubernatorial candidates were required to collect 4,000 such contributions; secretary of state candidates needed 2,500. All three candidates submitted more than the required amount. Lombardo and Neely each received more than $1.1 million for the primary; Collier received more than $295,000. After Lombardo and Collier won their primaries, they received more than $1.7 million and $443,000, respectively, in public funding for the general election. Neely lost the primary to Andy Biggs and received no general election funding.

The same four people are recorded as collecting the majority of $5 contributions for both Neely and Collier, despite Clean Elections rules barring candidates from paying collectors, making it unlikely the same individuals would volunteer for candidates from different parties. Lombardo was listed as collecting all of her own qualifying contributions. In some cases, contribution slips in Neely's name were submitted for Collier and vice versa, the Mirror found.

Over a five-week period before the primary, Lombardo and Collier paid more than $1.2 million in public funds to Bootstrap Campaigns, a Nevada business incorporated by GOP political operatives on May 12 with no online footprint and no other Arizona, Nevada, or federal campaign clients. The company's original officers, David Wilson and Bryan McPartlan, described by the Mirror as experienced Republican political consultants who have worked together in California, were replaced in amended corporate documents ten days after incorporation by a man named Christopher Silva, whose identity the Mirror could not confirm.

The Arizona Green Party has publicly described Lombardo and Collier as candidates co-opting the Green Party name to draw progressive votes away from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Lombardo was a Republican precinct committeewoman until five days before she filed to run for governor as a Green Party candidate. Her husband, Michael Lombardo, is listed on the Maricopa County Republican Committee's Ultra Grassroots website as a dedicated Republican activist. As of May, both shared an address at a north Phoenix mobile home park.

Neely told the Mirror he knew nothing about any false donations and that people who recruited him to run had volunteered to collect the $5 contributions on his behalf. He declined to identify those individuals. Neither Lombardo nor Collier responded to multiple requests for comment. The Arizona Secretary of State's Office did not respond to the Mirror's questions about the campaign finance system or the allegedly fraudulent contributions.

The Clean Elections Commission's investigation is ongoing; no decertification or penalty actions have been announced.

Sources

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  1. azmirror.com retrieved 25/08/2026 21:09

Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 25/08/2026 21:09. Every claim traces to a source.