Republican behind Trump's Arizona audit drops re-election bid

According to a report from CNN, Arizona State Senate president Karen Fann (R) -- who was the guiding light behind the GOP legislature authorizing an audit of the 2020 presidential election ballots in Maricopa County -- has decided to not seek re-election and will retire instead.

In a statement late Monday night she explained, "It has been a privilege to advocate on behalf of Arizona citizens in my twelve years at the State Legislature and the honor of a lifetime to serve as Senate President. I look forward to a successful session in 2022 advancing policies that benefit all Arizonans, and then enjoying the life my husband and I have built for ourselves in retirement with our family."

The widely-disparaged audit, which ended up costing the state millions, was demanded by former president Donald Trump who insisted that the election was stolen from him and pointed at Arizona as one of the states that he should have won.

As CNN reports, "Fann had spearheaded the partisan review of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County failed to prove fraud in the Arizona 2020 election. The review was conducted by the Florida-based company Cyber Ninjas, which had no experience auditing election results and is led by a man who has repeated wild conspiracy theories about election fraud."

In the end, the audit ended up showing Trump received fewer votes than first reported and President Joe Biden added to his lead.

Defending doing the audit, Fann once stated, "I don't know what's legit, what isn't legit. But why wouldn't we want to answer those questions?"