IN FOCUS - Sept. 4, 2026

Three Arizona candidates for statewide office are now the subject of a criminal investigation.

This week, the Office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced it has opened a criminal inquiry into two candidates for Governor - Republican Scott Neely and Green Party nominee Risa Lombardo - as well as Green nominee Duwayne Collier, who is running for Secretary of State. Lombardo and Collier are each on the November ballot; Neely was defeated in the Primary. The AG is looking into whether the three campaign committees falsified records in order to qualify for millions of dollars in public financing under Arizona’s Clean Elections system. Each candidate has denied wrongdoing.

Separately, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission is investigating the same matter, and its Executive Director said last week that evidence indicates the three campaigns didn’t actually qualify for the public funding they were allocated. At issue are the thousands of $5 contributions that candidates participating in the Clean Elections system are required to collect in order to qualify for public funding. Among issues the Commission finds “suspicious” - there was significant overlap in which the same individuals donated $5 to each of the campaigns, and the same handful of people collected most of the donations for Neely and Collier. Lombardo, via her attorney, has acknowledged she mistakenly signed her own $5 collection forms.

Additionally, media reports have identified multiple individuals who are listed as $5 donors to the candidates, but who have denied making any such contribution.

The Arizona Green Party distanced itself months ago from the campaigns of Lombardo and Collier, who have Republican ties and are viewed in Green circles as spoilers meant to siphon progressive votes away from Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

Clean Elections Executive Director Tom Collins has indicated he will present his findings no later than Oct. 29. It is unclear when the AG will complete its investigation.