Democratic Arizona House nominee Kirsten Engel released a campaign ad featuring a former state representative who said he was “a lifelong Republican.”
But Engel’s campaign failed to disclose that since 2013, the former “lifelong Republican” has donated almost exclusively to Democrats, including Engel, records show.
“I was a lifelong Republican,” said former Republican Arizona state House member Pete Hershberger in the Tuesday Engel campaign ad. “But every time I turn on the TV, it’s like, how did we get here? First [Gov. Doug] Ducey and now this new bunch. They’re not just radical, they’re dangerous.”
Hershberger, who served in Arizona’s House between 2001 and 2008, has contributed around $27,500 between 2013 and 2022 to over a dozen Democratic candidates and causes, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by the Washington Examiner. This notably includes $50 to Engel’s campaign in 2021, filings show.
The former lawmaker gave over $4,700 between 2019 and 2022 to Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) campaign, $550 between 2020 and 2022 to Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) campaign, and $1,600 in 2020 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. He gave $850 in 2014 to the campaign for former Democratic Arizona Rep. Ron Barber and around $6,100 between 2015 and 2022 to the campaign for former Democratic Arizona Rep. Thomas O’Halleran.
Other Democratic lawmakers who have received campaign funding from Hershberger include Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA).
Only $520 worth of Hershberger’s federal donations, in fact, have gone to Republicans. He gave $320 in 2004 to the Pima County, Arizona, Republican Party and $200 in 2008 to the congressional campaign for Tim Bee, a former Arizona senator.
DEMOCRATIC HOPEFUL POCKETED $205,000 FROM SPECIAL INTERESTS DESPITE CAMPAIGN FINANCE CLAIMS
Hershberger told the Washington Examiner he changed his voting registration from Republican to Democratic on Nov. 9, 2016, which was the day after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to win the presidency.
“I grew up in a strong Republican household, and a lot of people know my name in this area,” he said, referring to Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, where Engel is running. “That’s why I thought it was significant to do that. The purpose of me doing that was because the Republican Party has changed a great deal. I have always said that the Republican Party left me, I didn’t leave the Republican Party.”
Hershberger, who is retired, has also, between 2018 and 2022, donated $1,900 to the Democratic National Committee and $150 in 2022 to the No Dem Left Behind PAC, a group aiming to elect Democrats in rural areas. AmeriPAC, the Democratic leadership committee for Sen. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), received a $100 check from Hershberger in March 2021.
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A campaign spokesman for Juan Ciscomani, the Republican candidate running against Engel, told the Washington Examiner that “it’s not surprising” Engel’s campaign ad did not disclose her donor’s history.
“This is just another example of her lying to southern Arizonans,” he said.
Arizona’s 6th Congressional District “leans Republican,” according to the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election tracker. Engel’s campaign has raised about $1.7 million this cycle as a whole, whereas Ciscomani’s campaign has raised over $2.6 million.
Engel’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
