Mark Finchem gives up on election appeal but still challenges $48K in legal sanctions

Mark Finchem has given up on his lawsuit challenging his loss in last year's race for Arizona secretary of state.

Finchem's attorney filed a motion in the state Court of Appeals to dismiss his challenge, noting that statewide candidates Kari Lake and Abe Hamedeh have made similar allegations of election malfeasance over their losses but have not been successful.

Lake continues to challenge her loss in the governor's race, while Hamadeh is pressing forward with an appeal on his loss in the race for attorney general.

Finchem's attorney, Daniel McAuley III, filed the motion to dismiss July 30, according to court records.

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The next day, Finchem issued yet another fundraising appeal, seeking $1,286 to cover his legal bill for the month.

"I am ready to keep the fight going," Finchem wrote in a July 31 email. "We expect big developments in the case this month, we just need to be able to pay our lawyers so we can capitalize!" he wrote. "Donate here! Our lawyers fees are due at midnight!"

Democrat Adrian Fontes won by more than 120,000 votes against Finchem, the Republican nominee.

In May, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian ordered Finchem to pay the $40,272 attorney fee bill that Fontes accrued in defending against Finchem's lawsuit, which alleged misconduct in the Nov. 8 election and sought a do-over of the race.

The judge also ordered McAuley, Finchem's attorney, to cover the $7,434 attorney fee bill of then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose office was named in the lawsuit.

Despite dropping his election appeal, Finchem is apparently still pursuing an appeal of the nearly $48,000 in sanctions a Maricopa County Superior Court judge levied against him and McAuley in May.

That appeal is before the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter and Threads @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mark Finchem's legal fight over Arizona secretary of state race ends