Mark Brnovich, the former Arizona attorney general who became a prominent figure during the push by President Donald Trump and allies to seek evidence that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, has died. He was 59, and a representative for his family said he died after having a heart attack Monday.
Brnovich was serving in his second term as attorney general when Arizona, a state that Joe Biden carried in 2020, became a focal point for efforts to find substantiation for claims of widespread fraud. Those efforts intensified as Trump and his supporters argued that the election result should be reversed, despite repeated legal setbacks for similar claims in other states.
In April 2022, Brnovich released an interim report that outlined concerns about some election procedures. The report, however, did not provide proof of major issues despite about six months of investigation, according to the record described by colleagues and subsequent statements from Arizona’s current attorney general.
At the time Brnovich was investigating the 2020 election, he was also seeking the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat. The campaign backdrop included criticism from Trump, who said Brnovich was not doing enough to prosecute election fraud, and Brnovich also sought an endorsement from Trump that he did not receive.
After current Attorney General Kris Mayes took office, she said in connection with the election investigation that Brnovich suppressed findings from investigators. Mayes said the records showed the 2020 election “was conducted fairly and accurately by election officials,” a conclusion she said was reflected in documentation her office made available.
Mayes also disclosed records she said showed Brnovich withheld a separate memo that systematically refuted election conspiracies that took root on the right. The disclosures included allegations such as dead or duplicate voters, pre-marked ballots flown in from Asia, election servers connected to the internet, and manipulation involving satellites controlled by the Italian military.
Colleagues and friends of Brnovich praised him for public service that included roles as a judge, prosecutor, lawyer and director of the Arizona Department of Gaming. Former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Brnovich’s “humor, positivity, and happy warrior spirit were infectious” and posted on X: “For those of us blessed to call him a friend, his humor, positivity, and happy warrior spirit were infectious. May he rest in peace,” Ducey said in the post.
Brnovich, a Republican, lost the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in 2021. In a video launching his campaign, he described himself as the son of immigrants who fled communism in Yugoslavia, and he said he used his attorney general role to take on “crony capitalists” and government overreach while promoting religious liberty, border security and election integrity.
In April, Trump nominated Brnovich to be ambassador to Serbia, but the nomination was later withdrawn in October.