The America First Secretary of State Coalition ("America First SOS Coalition") was an American

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

coalition formed to support a slate of candidates in the 2022 United States secretary of state elections who supported former president Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The coalition's president was

Jim Marchant James Carl Marchant Jr. (born May 28, 1956) is an American politician, currently residing in Nevada. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 37th district in the Nevada Assembly, covering parts of the northwestern Las Vegas Valley, f ...

, the unsuccessful Republican

nominee A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

for

Secretary of State of Nevada The secretary of state of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). Th ...

, and was headquartered in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The coalition endorsed 14 candidates for state secretary of state, as well as Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate

Doug Mastriano Douglas Vincent Mastriano (born January 2, 1964) is an American far-right politics#United States, far-right politician and retired military officer who has served in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2019, representing the Pennsylvania Senate, Dist ...

, Arizona gubernatorial candidate

Kari Lake Kari Lake Halperin ( Lake; ; born August 23, 1969) is an American political figure and former television news anchor who has served as the special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media since 2025 under President Donald Trump. S ...

, and Ohio congressional candidate Dante Sabatucci. The coalition was financially supported by the affiliated Conservatives for Election Integrity PAC (CFEI PAC). Out of the 17 total candidates the coalition endorsed, only 7 candidates advanced past the Republican Party primaries, and just one candidate, Diego Morales, was elected in the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

History and foundation

The existence of the coalition was first disclosed by Marchant during a conversation on

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

's podcast, ''War Room''. Marchant had been described as the leading organizer of the coalition. The coalition reportedly formed following a meeting in May 2021 involving Marchant,

QAnon QAnon ( ) is a far-right conspiracy theories in United States politics, American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals kno ...

conspiracy theorist Wayne Willott, and other conservative activists and fundraisers.

Mike Lindell Michael James Lindell ( ; born June 28, 1961), also known as the My Pillow Guy and Mike Pillow, is an American businessman, political activist, and conspiracy theorist. He is the founder and CEO of My Pillow, a pillow, bedding, and slipper man ...

, founder and CEO of My Pillow, Inc., was reportedly a backer of the coalition. Initial candidates supported by the coalition included

Mark Finchem Mark William Finchem (born April 24, 1957) is an American far-right politician who serves as a member of the Arizona Senate. He was previously a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 2015 to 2023. He is th ...

(

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Kristina Karamo Kristina Karamo (born 1985 or 1986) is an American politician and former poll watcher who served as the chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party from 2023 to 2024. Karamo was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2022 Michigan Secretary of ...

(

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

), and

Jody Hice Jody Brownlow Hice (born April 22, 1960) is an American politician, radio show host, and political activist who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Georgia's 10th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. ...

(

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

), each of whom had been endorsed by former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. As of February 2022, Marchant was working to recruit candidates running for secretary of state in both

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Conservatives for Election Integrity PAC (CFEI PAC)

An affiliated

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

(PAC), the Conservatives for Election Integrity PAC (CFEI PAC), was founded by Marchant with the goal of fundraising for candidates for secretary of state. According to the

Brennan Center The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a liberal or progressive nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. The Brennan Center ...

, the PAC has raised $110,000 as of May 2022. The America Project, founded by former

Overstock.com Beyond, Inc. (formerly known as Overstock, Inc.) is an American internet retailer, online retailer that owns the "Bed Bath & Beyond" brand except for within Mexico and the "Overstock" brand, and runs online stores named with those brands. The M ...

CEO

Patrick M. Byrne Patrick Michael Byrne (born November 29, 1962) is an American businessman, promoter of conspiracy theories, and libertarian noted for his views on public education and blockchain. In 1999, Byrne launched Overstock.com (currently Beyond, Inc.) ...

, was a prominent contributor to the PAC.

Policy goals and support

According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the coalition supported eliminating alleged

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

through "eliminating mail-in ballots, requiring single-day voting and committing to 'aggressive voter roll cleanup,' measures that critics had suggested would suppress thousands of Democratic votes."

Candidates

The following is a list of candidates from the America First SOS website. The only candidate who won a general election was

Secretary of State of Indiana The secretary of state of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's state constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The secretary of state oversees four divisions, and is the third ...

Diego Morales. {, class="wikitable sortable" ! bgcolor="teal" , Candidate ! bgcolor="teal" , State ! bgcolor="teal" , Primary date !Primary result !General result , - , Audrey Trujillo ,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, , Nominated , Lost , - ,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(Governor) , ' , Nominated , Lost , - ,

, , Nominated , Lost , - ,

, , Nominated , Lost , - , Michael Brown ,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - , Tina Peters ,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - ,

Jim Zeigler Jim Zeigler (born May 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and politician who served as state auditor of Alabama from 2015 to 2023. Before becoming state auditor, he served on the Alabama Public Service Commission from 1974 to 1978. Early life and ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, June 21, 2022 , Lost runoff , Lost primary , - , Diego Morales ,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, , Nominated , Won , - ,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, June 14, 2022 , Nominated , Lost , - , Keith Blanford ,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, '''' , Lost primary , Lost primary , - , Rachel Hamm ,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, '''' , Lost primary , Lost primary , - ,

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - ,

Dorothy Moon Dorothy Moon (born 1958) is an American Radical right (United States), far-rightDavid Smith'Republican and more Republican': Idaho shifts ever rightward ''The Guardian'' (May 11, 2022): "elections for other offices of state are more competitive be ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - , Robert Borer ,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - , Jay Schroeder ,

, , Lost primary , Lost primary , - , Dante Sabatucci ,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

( 13th congressional district) , , Lost primary , Lost primary , - ,

(Governor) , , Nominated , Lost{{Cite web , last=Singh , first=Maanvi , date=November 14, 2022 , title=Katie Hobbs defeats election denier Kari Lake in Arizona governor race {{! US midterm elections 2022 {{! The Guardian , url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/katie-hobbs-wins-arizona-governor-midterms-democrat , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115083505/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/katie-hobbs-wins-arizona-governor-midterms-democrat , archive-date=November 15, 2022 , access-date=December 1, 2022 , website=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, quote=The Democratic candidate for governor in Arizona, Katie Hobbs, has defeated her far-right, Trump-endorsed opponent, staving off a major threat to voting rights in the state. Hobbs, who is Arizona’s outgoing secretary of state, defeated Kari Lake...

Notes

References