Arizona Clean Elections panel authorizes investigation into candidates who received $4.7 million in public funds

Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Commission authorized further investigation Thursday, August 27, into three statewide candidates whose campaigns received about $4.7 million in public funding.

The candidates are Republican Scott Neely, who ran for governor; Green Party gubernatorial candidate Risa Lombardo; and Green Party secretary of state candidate Duwayne Collier. The commission has not issued a final fraud finding or repayment order.

Why the money is under review

Arizona’s Clean Elections system provides public campaign funding to candidates who agree to program rules and collect qualifying contributions of $5 each from registered Arizona voters. Those small contributions help candidates qualify for larger amounts of public money.

For the 2026 election, gubernatorial candidates Lombardo and Neely were required to collect at least 4,000 qualifying contributions. Collier, who ran for secretary of state, was required to collect 2,500.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office and county recorders previously certified that the campaigns submitted enough forms. The current investigation is examining whether the contributions actually met the statutory requirements.

What commission staff flagged

Clean Elections Executive Director Thomas Collins told commissioners that a preliminary review found unusual patterns across the three campaigns.

About 5,000 donor names appeared in the campaigns’ records, and roughly 74% were associated with more than one of the three candidates. Nearly half appeared in all three campaigns’ records, Collins said.

Commission staff also cited reports from donors who said they did not make the $5 contributions attributed to them. Arizona Mirror reported that six people listed as donors denied contributing to the campaigns. Collins said the commission’s own fieldwork was consistent with that reporting.

Other concerns included unusual paper forms, little or no early fundraising activity and the campaigns’ deposits of qualifying contributions in single lump sums shortly before they applied for public funding. Those are allegations and preliminary investigative findings, not a final determination that the candidates or campaigns committed fraud.

Repayment amounts under consideration

Official notices in the commission’s meeting packet identify proposed repayment amounts if the investigation supports further action. Staff said it anticipated seeking $1,141,328 from Neely’s campaign.

The notice to Lombardo identified two possible repayment theories: up to $2,853,320 based on the alleged improper qualification for Clean Elections funding, or $1,017,889.27 plus additional amounts tied to alleged reporting violations involving a consultant.

The notice to Collier identified a proposed repayment amount of $739,358.

Separately, reporting by KJZZ and Axios put Lombardo’s combined primary and general-election funding at about $2.8 million and Collier’s at nearly $740,000. Neely received about $1.1 million for the primary election before losing the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

These figures do not mean the candidates will necessarily have to repay all of the approximately $4.7 million. The ultimate repayment amounts, if any, remain unresolved.

What the commission can do next

Arizona law gives the commission investigative powers that include subpoenaing witnesses, compelling attendance and testimony, administering oaths, taking evidence and requiring production of campaign books, papers, records and other material documents. The meeting packet specifically warns that campaign records, bank statements and witnesses may be required during the investigation.

The August 27 action moved the matters forward for continued investigation and possible repayment proceedings. A repayment determination would require the commission to identify the legal and factual basis for the amount it finds repayable.

The commission’s approved meeting schedule lists September 24 and October 29, 2026, as upcoming meetings. Arizona Mirror and Axios reported that staff expected a repayment recommendation as early as September 24 or by October 29. Those are reported targets for possible commission consideration, not guaranteed deadlines or final repayment dates.

Candidate responses

Timothy La Sota, an attorney for Lombardo and Collier, rejected the allegations and called the commission staff’s theory unfounded. He argued that campaigns may hold qualifying contributions before depositing them and said the evidence presented did not justify reversing the earlier certification of the campaigns.

Neely denied wrongdoing during the commission meeting and said he had not engaged in fraud. He said he expected to be cleared.

The Secretary of State’s Office said its review verifies the number of qualifying-contribution forms and that county recorders check voter registration and flag some signature discrepancies. A review may not identify a donor who says a signature is authentic but denies making the contribution, according to the office’s explanation reported by KJZZ.

For Arizona voters and taxpayers, the investigation will determine whether public campaign money was distributed under the program’s rules and whether any funds must be recovered. The money at issue comes from Arizona’s publicly financed campaign system, but no final finding that the candidates committed fraud and no final repayment order had been issued as of August 28, 2026.

Sources

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