Losing Arizona: Is Sen. David Gowan an Insurrectionist?

This is part of a series from The Copper Courier highlighting the Arizona legislators involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection or the events leading up to it. Read the rest here.

Sen. David Gowan attended the University of Arizona and lives in Sierra Vista. He served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017 and was the speaker of the House from 2015 to 2017. He ran for the US House of Representatives in 2016, but he withdrew ahead of the primary. He was elected to represent District 14—which covers a large part of Southern Arizona, primarily in Santa Cruz County— in the Arizona Senate in 2018.

Contributions to the Insurrection

Gowan signed on to a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to accept 11 “alternate” electoral votes for Trump or to have all of the state’s electoral votes “nullified completely until a full forensic audit can be conducted.”

He was one of the Republican lawmakers who attended an unofficial November daylong hearing at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix where Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis continuously made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in Arizona’s election.

In the current legislative session, Gowan is behind a “strike everything amendment” to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1006 that would ask voters to give the Legislature the power to disregard the public vote and “the sole authority to appoint the presidential electors who will cast this state’s votes in the Electoral College.”

If passed, the measure would bypass Gov. Doug Ducey and go directly onto the 2022 ballot. 

How You May Have Heard of Them

During Gowan’s time as speaker, he faced criticism for approving inappropriately claimed travel reimbursements, which he later repaid.  According to the Arizona Capitol Times, Gowan claimed the excess funds used were due to reimbursement forms being incorrectly filled out by members of his staff.

He also came under fire in 2017 after revoking reporters’ access to the House floor unless they agreed to undergo a background check. He later backed off the requirement.

He is up for re-election in 2022.

Gowan isn’t alone. See the others who played a role in the insurrection.