Russell Bowers

Bowers, who is a fourth-generation Arizonan, grew up on a sheep ranch in Chino Valley.{{Cite news |date=July 30, 2022 |title=Rusty Bowers defied Donald Trump - what happens now? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62338119 |access-date=August 2, 2022}} He attended Mesa Community College, Arizona State University, and Brigham Young University. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he spent two years as a Mormon missionary in Mexico.{{cite web | url=http://www.azrlvf.com/leadership-bowers/ | title=Russell Bowers |accessdate=September 2, 2022}}

File:Russell Bowers, Doug Ducey, Debbie Lesko & Donald Trump (49567385636).jpg Donald Trump, Doug Ducey, and Debbie Lesko in February 2020]]

File:P20230106AS-1567 (52645267905).jpg from President Joe Biden in January 2023]]

Bowers, despite being a strong Republican along party lines, refused to cooperate with President Trump, Rudy Giuliani and their unconstitutional attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Arizona. Bowers publicly stated that there was no evidence whatsoever of election fraud that would otherwise mandate rejection of the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Arizona.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-legislature-pennsylvania-b199b2debc87fbb20612a48835bc0dba|title=GOP leaders in 4 states quash dubious Trump bid on electors|date=November 14, 2020|publisher=Associated Press|first1=Bob|last1=Christie|first2=Nicholas|last2=Riccardi}} On June 21, 2022, Bowers testified before the House January 6 committee. As part of his testimony, Bowers stated that when he asked Rudy Giuliani for evidence regarding election fraud claims, Giuliani responded, "We have lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence".{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/21/1106413341/arizona-lawmaker-rusty-bowers-pressure-giuliani|title=Arizona lawmaker Rusty Bowers details the pressure put on him by Trump and Giuliani|date=June 21, 2022|publisher=NPR|first=Ximena|last=Bustillo}}

Bowers also denied a bill in the Arizona House of Representatives which would have allowed the state legislature to override the results of a presidential election in Arizona.{{cite news|date=February 4, 2022|first1=Andy|last1=Rose|first2=Veronica|last2=Stracqualursi|publisher=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/03/politics/arizona-bill-reject-election-results-effectively-blocked/index.html|title=Arizona Republican House speaker effectively dooms GOP bill to allow state legislature to reject election results}}

In December 2020, colleague Senator Kelly Townsend wanted Bowers to call the legislature into session and appoint an alternate slate of electors. When he refused, Townsend doxed Bowers on Twitter, revealing his home address, and urged her militia followers to protest at his home.{{cite web | url=https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/gop-election-rift-engulfs-mesa-lawmakers/article_5b36c7e0-3e3b-11eb-9e91-232b09e884a4.html | title=GOP election rift engulfs Mesa lawmakers |date= December 15, 2020|work= East Valley Tribune}}

For his efforts in resisting the attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, Bowers was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He was one of five honorees to receive the award in 2022.{{cite news|url=https://ktar.com/story/5071733/arizona-house-speaker-rusty-bowers-receives-profile-in-courage-award/|title=Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers receives JFK Profile in Courage Award|date=May 23, 2022|first=Kevin|last=Stone|publisher=KTAR-FM}} Nevertheless, on July 19, 2022, the Arizona Republican Party censured Bowers for his resistance.{{cite news|title=Arizona Republicans censure Rusty Bowers days before Trump rally here|url=https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/arizona-republicans-censure-house-speaker-rusty-bowers/75-66991122-dda0-4df7-9155-8efc31404a75|date=July 19, 2022|publisher=KPNX}}

Also in response to his resistance, in January 2021, a convoy of Trump supporters rolled up in front of his property, with megaphones and a giant sign accusing him of pedophilia. At the end of December, 2023, Bowers was swatted, with the police getting a false alarm having accused the owner of the premises of having killed his wife. He also received threatening phone calls and e-mails.{{Cite news |last=Pilkington |first=Ed |date=2022-08-21 |title=Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: ‘The place has lost its mind’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/20/rusty-bowers-interview-trump-arizona-republicans |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=}}{{Cite web |date=2024-01-31 |title=Rusty Bowers, former Arizona House speaker, faces swatting incident |url=https://www.deseret.com/2024/1/9/24031848/rusty-bowers-2020-election-results-swatting-incident/ |access-date= |website=Deseret News |language=en}}

In 2022, Bowers ran for the State Senate, as he was being termed out from the State House. He lost the Republican primary for the State Senate by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, with the loss being attributed to his resistance to overturning the 2020 presidential election. In spite of the loss, Bowers said he had no regrets about his resistance and "would [have done] it again in a heartbeat".{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-presidential-bill-clinton-arizona-280e523df0027540f3bbced7a7d8078e|title=Jan. 6 witness Rusty Bowers has no regrets in GOP race loss|date=August 3, 2022|first=Bob|last=Christie|publisher=AP News}}

Bowers is married to Donetta Russell, with whom he has had seven children.{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Pilkington |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/20/rusty-bowers-interview-trump-arizona-republicans |title=Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: 'The place has lost its mind' |newspaper=The Guardian |date=August 21, 2022}} Bowers is a painter and rancher. His property was deeply affected by a 2021 fire that ravaged his farm, and burnt his painting studio where much of his work, as well as a significant portion of his legislative papers, was stored.

In late January 2021, Bowers announced the death of his daughter, Kacey Rae Bowers at 42, who had been fighting hepatic cancer for a "long period of time."{{Cite web |title='With great difficulty Donetta and I announce the passing of our beautiful daughter Kacey Rae Bowers...' |url=https://www.facebook.com/100000246798523/posts/4191162324235286/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |date=January 31, 2021 |website=Facebook |language=en}} Her last weeks were troubled by the presence of Trump supporters, one armed, demonstrating noisily outside Bowers' home.

• 2014 – Bowers and Justin Olson defeated Haydee Dawson, Michelle Udall and Jerry Walker in the Republican primary. Olson and Bowers defeated David Butler, Sheila Ogea, and Libertarian Michael Kielsky in the general election, with Bowers receiving 33,220 votes.{{cite web |url= http://apps.azsos.gov/election/2014/General/Canvass2014GE.pdf|title= State of Arizona Official Canvass 2014 General Election November 4, 2014 |publisher= Secretary of State of Arizona |location= Phoenix, Arizona |page= 9 |access-date= March 18, 2016}}
• 2016 – Bowers and Udall defeated Ross Groen in the Republican primary. Bowers and Udall defeated Kathleen Rahn, with Bowers receiving 51,160 votes.{{cite web |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_House_of_Representatives_District_25|title=Arizona House of Representatives District 25|access-date= December 1, 2018}}
• 2018 – Bowers and Udall defeated Marlene Hinton in the Republican primary. Bowers and Olson defeated Johnny Martin in the general election, with Bowers receiving 30,712 votes.

• Presidential Citizens Medal, 2023{{Cite web |title=Biden grants Presidential Citizens Medals 2 years after Jan. 6 Capitol attack |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/joe-biden-presidential-citizens-medal-january-6-capitol-attack-watch-live-stream-today-2023-01-06/ |access-date=January 20, 2023 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.azleg.gov/house-member/?legislature=55&session=123&legislator=2000 Official page] at the Arizona State Legislature
• [https://ballotpedia.org/Russell_Bowers Ballotpedia Page]

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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
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{{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives|years=2019–2023}}

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Category:1952 births

Category:20th-century Arizona politicians

Category:21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature

Category:Brigham Young University alumni

Category:Latter Day Saints from Arizona

Category:Living people

Category:Painters from Arizona

Category:People associated with the 2020 United States presidential election

Category:Politicians from Mesa, Arizona

Category:Presidential Citizens Medal recipients

Category:Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives

Category:Sculptors from Arizona

Category:Speakers of the Arizona House of Representatives