‘Arizona has suffered enough’: Republic columnist exasperated with ‘kooky’ GOP candidates

The antics of Arizona Republicans are infuriating Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts.

"As if Arizona hasn't already taken enough of a beating, what with a phony audit, Kari Lake's sledgehammer, Mark Brnovich's nunchucks and, well, everything Paul Gosar, now comes the ultimate indignity," Roberts wrote. "Ron Watkins, the guy who reportedly put the Q in QAnon, apparently is moving to Arizona to run for Congress – or possibly just to grift some serious cash from his supporters."

Watkins released a video on Thursday night announcing his campaign in which he declared that he had "decided to double down — with God as my compass — to take this fight to the swamp of Washington, DC" by running for Congress.

"With all due respect (meaning: none), Ron. Couldn't you double down in some other state? Surely, Arizona has suffered enough," she wrote. "For nearly a year, we've endured hysterics over the fact that Joe Biden won the state. From vote-stealing Sharpies to ballot eating 'green buttons' to clueless ninja auditors, this state has slogged through embarrassment after embarrassment."

Roberts specifically called out multiple Arizona Republicans.

"We already are home to Rep. Paul Gosar, who, when he's playing footsie with white nationalists, is extolling the 'peaceful patriots' who stormed the nation's Capitol on Jan. 6," she noted. "We already have Kari Lake, a local TV news-anchor-turned-Trumpette who struts around with her trusty sledgehammer bashing the media and hoping it'll carry her into the Governor's Office."

Roberts also mentioned state GOP Chair Kelli Ward, state Sen. Wendy Rogers, and state Rep. Mark Finchem, who is running for Secretary of State.

On Wednesday, Finchem was in Virginia at a rally with Steve Bannon for gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin. Last Saturday, Finchem was in Iowa for a rally with Donald Trump. And on January 6th, Finchem was at the U.S. Capitol.

"On Friday morning, we awoke to a video of Attorney General Mark Brnovich showing off his nunchuck moves, a painful demonstration of his qualifications to represent us in the United States Senate," Roberts wrote.

Roberts voiced her embarrassment with Watkins and Arizona Republicans.

"So yeah, why not run for Congress and where better than Arizona, where it has, sadly, become perfectly acceptable to spread kooky conspiracy theories in order to get a footing on the political food chain? I mourn for my beautiful, beloved state. We already have our own homegrown, over-the-edge, full-on off-their-rocker whack jobs," she wrote. "Why us, world? Why is it always us?"