Trump’s call to end mail-in voting creates a dilemma for GOP candidates who benefit from it

By SEJAL GOVINDARAO PHOENIX AP President Donald Trump has vowed to do away with voting by mail but particular of his Republican allies in two Western battleground states are taking a more cautious approach Related Articles A law enforcement surge has taken a toll on children of immigrants in Washington schools Trump redistricting push threatens minority representation Black voters worry about its impact Mass healthcare functionaries recommend COVID- vaccine for all adults ahead of federal guidance Trump s Medicaid cuts were aimed at able-bodied adults Hospitals say kids will be hurt What to know about the congressional redistricting trend kick-started by Trump U S Rep Andy Biggs one of two candidates with Trump s endorsement in the Arizona governor s race does not help the elimination of mail voting altogether though he previously questioned it after Trump s defeat His primary challenger developer Karrin Taylor Robson also is backed by Trump but hasn t gone as far as Biggs to declare where she stands on eliminating mail voting The dilemma highlights a recurring challenge various GOP candidates face heading into next year s midterm elections They re scrambling to balance their allegiance to Trump against the desire for convenience among several Republican voters That s especially sensitive in the Arizona governor s contest where Trump has taken the unorthodox approach of giving his full-throated endorsement to both Biggs and Taylor Robson In an voting process cycle that historically tends to go against the sitting president s party Trump s sweeping condemnation of mail voting gives swing-state Republicans one more reason to worry Republicans helped by mail voting GOP strategist Barrett Marson disclosed mail voting helped Republicans win Arizona races in the referendum when Trump won the state overall by more than five percentage points and the party expanded its legislative majority President Trump and his campaign had a very flourishing ballot-chasing venture in and so it would be nice for him to understand sort of the way that works and how flourishing he was in that endeavor Marson stated Trump won about of the votes cast early in-person and by mail in Arizona In a television interview last month state Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda also commented the ballot chase and early vote helped deliver this ballot for Republicans FILE Democratic Arizona Gov Katie Hobbs talks about the legislative session and other top issues in Arizona during an interview at the Capitol July in Phoenix AP Photo Ross D Franklin File Although mail voting remains popular with voters Trump on Truth Social last month called for an end to the practice with exceptions for those who are very ill and The Far Away Military Earlier this month he disclosed the relocation of U S Space Command from Colorado to Alabama calling Colorado s universal mail voting system a big factor Arizona margins have shrunk and mail voting skepticism has grown Trump has long cast doubt on mail voting claiming it s a pathway to fraud even though there is no evidence of widespread problems He sent conflicting messages about it in as Republicans made a strategy shift to focus on early voters ahead of the presidential referendum President Trump is committed to ensuring that every vote cast is done in a secure and transparent fashion to restore trust and integrity back to American elections White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson noted in an email Tuesday FILE Republican Arizona Gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson greets supporters at a campaign party Aug in Phoenix AP Photo Matt York File In Arizona where about of voters statewide cast a mailed ballot the issue is particularly salient Taylor Robson and Biggs themselves both have been casting mail ballots for nearly two decades Arizona Republicans pioneered a vote-by-mail expansion in the s But in up-to-date years the state has been whipsawed by vote integrity conspiracies which have thrived in part because of vote-counting delays in Maricopa County the state s population center Trump for example lost statewide to former President Joe Biden in by votes or of the nearly million ballots cast and falsely claimed the poll was stolen Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes beat her GOP opponent in a electoral contest recount by only votes or percentage points Maricopa County is the country s second-largest voting process jurisdiction after Los Angeles County Counting mail ballots takes more time because the envelopes must be scanned ballots sorted and voters signatures inspected before the ballot can be tallied GOP candidates confront a dilemma Though Taylor Robson aligned herself with Arizona business leaders when she lost the governor s race in she has since shifted to the right She sports a MAGA in her X profile s bio and a Make Arizona Strong Again slogan In when she did not have Trump s backing she refused to say whether she would have certified the voting process results but didn t go so far as calling the electoral contest fraudulent Her first television ad this year centered on Trump s help of her run for governor after he disclosed that he also supports Biggs She has stated in an interview with a local radio station that she agrees with the president on all major issues that matter to Arizonans She side-stepped a question on voting by mail in a newest interview with KTAR noting that she agrees with Trump on the need to restore trust and integrity in the elections but not explicitly stating whether or not she d like to see mail voting repealed Her campaign declined to elaborate Biggs a former chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus supported Trump s false suggests about the presidential electoral contest being stolen In praising the president s budget bill he declared he would constantly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump in his fight against bloated bureaucracy But he breaks with the president when it comes to mail voting Sean Noble a Biggs campaign consultant declared Biggs doesn t assistance revoking mail voting Since Trump s announcement Biggs has encouraged in-person voting on the social platform X Encouraging in person voting is not the same as repealing mail voting Noble disclosed in a text message He does not encouragement eliminating mail voting Arizona s Democratic Gov Katie Hobbs who is running for reelection explained she would protect mail-in voting Nevada governor faces a similar conundrum A similar dynamic is in play in neighboring Nevada where incumbent Gov Joe Lombardo a Republican has been strategic in his inhabitants encouragement of Trump He s endorsed the president but has looked to build an independent profile as a moderate in another state where close elections are commonplace FILE Nevada Gov Joe Lombardo speaks at the old Assembly Chambers in Carson City Nev May AP Photo Tom R Smedes File Lombardo who was endorsed by Trump in has stayed loyal but rejected Trump s false indicates of the balloting being stolen In his reelection campaign launch Monday Lombardo made no specific mention of mail voting I promised Nevadans I would fight for common sense balloting reforms like voter ID he declared Lombardo s referendum was drawn out in part because of a law requiring counties to accept mail ballots postmarked by Vote Day even if they arrive four days later While all states allow various form of mail voting Nevada is among eight states and the District of Columbia that conduct all elections almost entirely by mail In three of the last four statewide elections more Nevadans voted by mail than voted in person The exception was the general vote when of voters cast their ballots by mail Lombardo who has previously called for an end to universal mail-in ballots and has supported stopping mail ballot counting after Ballot Day did not respond to multiple requests for comment It s unclear whether he presently agrees with Trump s call to do away with mail voting altogether Associated Press journalist Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed to this overview The Associated Press women in the workforce and state establishment coverage receives financial endorsement from Pivotal Ventures AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org