Robert Graham, the former Arizona GOP Chairman and close confidante of President Donald Trump, has begun campaigning for the position of National Committeeman. The current Committeeman, Bruce Ash, recently announced he was not running.
Graham served two terms as State Party Chairman and led Republicans to strong victories in 2014 and most importantly, victory for Trump in 2016. Graham, much like fellow Arizonan Jeff DeWit, was a frequent surrogate for Trump in the media and was among those considered for National GOP Chairman. Trump thought so much of Graham that he tried to convince him to run for the U.S. Senate against Never Trumper Jeff Flake. [RELATED ARTICLE: Trump met with Flake’s prospective primary opponents at Phoenix rally ] “At the time I could not meet my family obligations and serve in the U.S. Senate, but I saw the President recently and he encouraged me to get back into the fight at the national level, so this is the perfect time and opportunity to do so.” said Graham.
“It’s been a great honor to serve our party and our President, and the time has come for me to announce that I’m continuing to seek support to serve once again. Not only do we have an incredibly important presidential election on the near horizon, we must also secure our Republican advantage in every state and at the national level.” Graham said.
Republican National Committee members serve four-year terms, from the end of the upcoming national convention this August to the end of the 2024 convention.
The election will take place at the AZGOP’s State Convention on May 9th at the Phoenix Convention Center, where delegates to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, NC, will also be elected. Other candidates rumored or officially entering the race include lobbyist Brett Mecum and former Maricopa County Chairman Tyler Bowyer. Campaign consultant Constantine “CQ” Querard was also looking at the race but told us when contacted that “as appealing as the challenge of the position was” he would be supporting Graham instead. If the race ends up featuring Graham versus Bowyer it will likely get somewhat personal, as Bowyer went after Graham on a number of occasions when they were both serving as chairmen.