Trump lobbied the Arizona governor to reverse the 2020 election outcome, according to the report

The two sources told the Post that Trump called his vice president, Mike Pence, to call the Duce and press him to find evidence of voter fraud, which he was never able to provide.

Pence called Ducey several times to discuss the election, but did not make the specific request Trump made, according to sources. The report added that the governor did not respond to direct pressure from the former president.

Trump lost Arizona by about 11,000 votes against Joe Biden, and he intends to reverse that result after looking at fraudulent votes. However, the governor resisted and on November 30, 2020, publicly certified his state’s election results after recounts and lawsuits filed by Trump’s team were dismissed.

As the governor was signing documents live that day, his cell phone rang. Ducey smartly took the phone out of his jacket and silenced it, he recalled the Post reporting. Later, Trump admitted that he had called her, but had no information about what they talked about.

This new Post report is relevant because it is the first time the extent of pressure the former president has exerted directly on Arizona’s governor is known, beyond previous reports of similar actions against officials in that state.

The newspaper reached out to Ducey’s spokesperson, who apparently tried to play down these new inquiries. “It’s not new, it’s not news to those who have been following this issue for the past two years,” Daniel Scarpinato told the newspaper. “Governor Ducey defended the results of the 2020 Arizona election, certified the election, and made it clear that the certification allowed him to make credible, evidence-backed claims. But none came forward,” he added.

Now that the former governor of Arizona has avoided a direct public showdown with the former president, he continues to lead the polls for his party’s primaries ahead of the 2024 election, even as he faces legal challenges, one of which relates to previous presidential elections.

However, a Republican donor told the Post on condition of anonymity that during the meal, the governor described this “pressure” from Trump and was surprised that he was not called to testify at the special-led hearing. Jack Smith has tried to reverse the defeat of the former president.

It is unclear whether Ducey and his team have been contacted by the Office of Special Counsel since the meeting with the donor occurred. According to sources who spoke to the Post, half a dozen Arizona officials contacted by Trump or his allies after the previous and current elections have been interviewed by Smith’s team or at least received subpoenas on search records.

Among those interviewed were former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Rusty Bowers and three current members of the Maricopa County Board of Governors, where Biden sealed his victory in that state.