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Wendy Rogers (politician)

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Wendy Rogers
File:Wendy Rogers Arizona Senate Portrait.jpg
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 11, 2021
Preceded bySylvia Allen
Personal details
Born (1954-07-24) July 24, 1954 (age 70)
Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Hal Kunnen
​
(m. 1978)​
Children2
EducationMichigan State University (BSW)
University of Alabama (MSW)
California State University, San Bernardino (MS)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
RankLieutenant Colonel

Wendy Rogers (born July 24, 1954) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing Arizona Legislative District 6.[1] Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 11, 2021.[1] She was a member of the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1996. She made five unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Arizona Legislature (in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018) before winning office in 2020.

An outspoken Donald Trump supporter, she led a successful primary challenge against incumbent Republican Senator Sylvia Allen, who was long considered one of the most conservative Arizona legislators.[2][3] Rogers is a member of Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia organization whose members took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.[4] She has indicated agreement with the Great Replacement conspiracy theory embraced by white supremacists and has made appearances on a webcast that promotes hate speech. After being elected, her rhetoric on social media became increasingly extreme.[5][6][7] Rogers was a scheduled speaker at an October 2021 QAnon-linked conference in Las Vegas.[8][9]

Early life and education

Rogers was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky on July 24, 1954.[10] She holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Michigan State University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Alabama, and a Master of Science in national security studies from California State University, San Bernardino.[10]

Career

Wendy Rogers is the daughter of a long line of Army officers, in 1976 Lt. Col. Wendy Rogers was commissioned as a 5th-generation military officer into the United States Air Force. She began her career treating patients in the Air Force mental health clinic. In 1981, Wendy Rogers became one of the first 100 women pilots in today’s Air Force by earning her wings at Williams AFB in Arizona. [11]To give her accomplishment context, as of January 2020, women make up only 21% of all Air Force members. Of the 328,255 active duty members, 68,470 are women, with 806 who serve as pilots, 347 navigators and 233 air battle managers, according to Air Force’s Personnel Center officials. [12]

Following Air Force jet training, Wendy piloted worldwide airlift and humanitarian missions in the C-141 transport jet for several years. Wendy then served as a flight instructor for cadets at the US Air Force Academy. The latter half of Wendy’s 20-year Air Force career placed her overseas. While in Europe, Wendy piloted Air Force C-21 Learjets and led three different operational divisions at Headquarters US Air Forces Europe. During the fall of the Berlin Wall and efforts to improve relations with former East Bloc countries, Wendy was deployed for six months downrange to run the Bosnian Airlift. She finished her career with over 3,000 hours of jet flight time and numerous commendations, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. [13] Wendy retired from the USAF in 1996 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. [14]

After retiring from the Air Force, Rogers and her husband opened a home inspection business.[15] Their crew of Arizona-licensed home inspectors has worked throughout Coconino, Yavapai, Pinal and Maricopa counties. Hal is an electrical engineer who originally grew up on a Holstein dairy farm milking cows twice daily till age 18. Since Wendy and Hal relate on so many levels to the wholesome rural lifestyle of the area, they chose to make their retirement home Flagstaff’s Wildwood Hills.[16]

Unsuccessful campaigns in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018

In 2010, Rogers ran for the Arizona Senate in the 17th legislative district, losing to Democrat David Schapira.[17]

In 2012, Rogers ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 9th congressional district, losing the Republican primary to Vernon Parker.[18]

In 2014, Rogers ran again in the 9th district, losing to the Democratic incumbent congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema.[19] During her campaign, Rogers used footage of the beheading video of American journalist James Foley by ISIL terrorists in a campaign ad seeking to attack Sinema as weak on national security. Democrats condemned the ad as a "reprehensible" smear tactic, while Rogers' campaign defended it.[20]

In 2016, Rogers unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for a U.S. House seat from Arizona's 1st congressional district; she was one of a five-person field, along with Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, former state Senator and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, rancher and businessman Gary Kiehne, and Shawn Redd.[15] During her primary campaign, Rogers was the sole candidate to support Donald Trump's promotion of a Mexico–United States barrier.[15] She also supported increasing the number of U.S. military personnel deployed to foreign conflicts.[15] Rogers lost, coming in third place behind Babeu, who won the nomination, and Kiehne, the runner-up.[21]

In 2018, Rogers again made an unsuccessful run for Congress, losing to the Democratic incumbent Tom O'Halleran.[22]

Defamation case

While running for the seat, she ran attack ads claiming that one of her opponents in the Republican primary election, former state Senator Steve Smith, was a "slimy character whose modeling agency specializes in underage girls and advertises on websites linked to sex trafficking."[23][24] The modeling agency and its owner sued Rogers for defamation in October 2018; the protracted litigation eventually reached the Arizona Supreme Court, which decided to consider whether the First Amendment shields a political candidate from liability for defaming a third party while attacking an opposing candidate.[23][25] Oral arguments in the state Supreme Court were held in September 2021.[25] The Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, Reversed the decision of the Superior Court in Maricopa County Case number CV2018-013114, The Honorable Rosa Mroz, Judge, and found in favor of Rogers. [26] Second Source of Decision of the Court in this case. [27]

State Senate election and tenure

In 2020, Rogers ran for Arizona's 6th legislative district, defeating incumbent Sylvia Allen in a bitterly contested Republican primary, and defeating Democratic nominee Felicia French in the general election.[28] The district encompasses Rim Country and the White Mountains, and extends from Flagstaff to the Arizona–New Mexico border.[29] Rogers raised $1 million in campaign contributions, a record for the district, and dark money organizations on both sides spent large sums to support and oppose the two candidates.[28] During the campaign, Rogers made few public appearances and did not participate in debates; she also avoided taking positions on local political issues, including forest management, funding for education, or response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona.[28]

In December 2020, as a senator-elect, Rogers issued a tweet praising Confederate general Robert E. Lee as a "great patriot and a great leader."[30] In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, Rogers sponsored legislation to declare gun shops "essential businesses" permitted to remain open during emergencies.[31] In February 2021, Rogers sponsored legislation seeking to rename a portion of Arizona State Route 260 as the "Donald J. Trump Highway"; state Senator Martin Quezada, a Democrat from Phoenix, described the proposal as "a desperate attempt to really pander to a base of voters even though the state of Arizona rejected Donald Trump."[32]

Rogers is Vice Chairman of the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee and as a member of the Senate's Health and Human Services and Natural Resources, Energy and Water committees.[1] In the legislature, Rogers has introduced anti-abortion measures.[33]

Affiliation with militia group

Rogers first claimed to be a "charter member" of the Oath Keepers, a militia movement group, in 2018. During her 2020 run for the state Senate, she promoted her membership in the group, which promotes fringe conspiracy theories and violent, extremist rhetoric, including talk of a new civil war.[29] In one fundraising appeal in her 2020 campaign, Rogers compared herself to Kyle Rittenhouse.[29][34] After members of Oath Keepers had been indicted for their alleged participation in the January 6 Capitol attack, Rogers stated on Twitter, "I am a member of the Oathkeepers and I really like their dedication to our Constitution and to our country," including a photo of her speaking to the Cottonwood, Arizona chapter of the organization.[4]

Attempts to overturn 2020 presidential election

Further information: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

Following the 2020 United States presidential election, in which President Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden, Rogers promoted the false claim that Trump had won the election nationally and in Arizona.[35] As Arizona's slate of electors met in Phoenix to formally cast the state's electoral votes for Biden, Rogers tweeted "Buy more ammo."[36][37] Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs condemned Rogers' statement.[37]

After a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 in a failed attempt to halt the counting of the electoral votes and keep Trump in power, Rogers falsely claimed the attack had been conducted by antifa groups.[35][38] Rogers was one of a number of Republican state legislators in Arizona who either defended and excused the attempted insurrection, or spread disinformation about responsibility for the attack.[38]

In June 2021, Rogers appeared on the online TV network TruNews to promote Arizona Republicans' audit of the 2020 presidential election results in Maricopa County, Arizona. (The results had previously been repeatedly audited, with no irregularities found.) TruNews and its founder, Rick Wiles, are known for promoting antisemitism, including claims that "seditious Jews" plotted Trump's impeachment and that "the American people are being oppressed by Jewish tyrants." Rogers made the appearance on a show hosted by white nationalist commentator Lauren Witzke.[39]

Rogers strongly supported the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit initiated by Arizona Senate Republicans to challenge Joe Biden's victory in the county and the state. After the audit found no proof of election fraud, and that Biden's margin of victory was actually larger, Rogers began a campaign to audit elections in all fifty states and called for each state to "decertify its electors where it has been shown the elections were certified prematurely and inaccurately."[40]

Immigration

Rogers has posted on social media warnings that echo the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory. In July 2021, she asserted that "We Americans who love this country are being replaced by people who do not love this country" and that "Communists & our enemies are using mass immigration, education, big tech, big corporations & other strategies to accomplish this."[41]

Former aide's complaint

In January 2021, a former legislative aide to Rogers filed a complaint in the state Senate Ethics Committee against Rogers. The ex-staffer accused Rogers of abusive workplace conduct, including verbally abusing him and destroying his possessions in a tirade, repeatedly demanding that he work while on sick leave with COVID-19; demanding that he illegally perform campaign work on government time, and mocking his weight and appearance. In March 2021, the Ethics Committee dismissed the complaint against Rogers on a 3–2 party-line vote; the Republican majority said there was no "clear and convincing evidence" of an ethics violation, while the Democratic minority disagreed.[42] The former staffer subsequently filed a $500,000 notice of claim (a precursor to a lawsuit) against the state, alleging wrongful termination and harassment by Rogers.[43]

Personal life

Rogers married Hal Kunnen in 1978 and they have two children. Kunnen is a retired Air Force officer.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Senate Member". www.azleg.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  2. ^ Peter Aleshire (August 7, 2020). "Rogers unseats Allen in bitter, expensive state senate primary brawl". White Mountain Independent.
  3. ^ Colson, Thomas (August 3, 2021). "A pro-Trump Arizona state senator called for the mass imprisonment of Maricopa County officials after they condemned the election audit". Business Insider.
  4. ^ a b "'Abnormal methods': U.S. attorney general says feds will review Arizona's partisan election audit". 12news.com. June 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Nick R. Martin (July 21, 2021). "Az lawmaker Wendy Rogers stokes racist 'replacement' theory". Tucson Sentinel.
  6. ^ Jerod MacDonald-Evoy (July 20, 2021). "GOP Sen. Wendy Rogers defends her promotion of racist 'great replacement' ideology". Arizona Mirror.
  7. ^ MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (July 23, 2021). "State Sen. Wendy Rogers appears on antisemitic news show. Again". Arizona Mirror.
  8. ^ Siders, David (October 20, 2021). "'Down the rabbit hole': Arizona GOP goes full fringe". Politico.
  9. ^ "The Patriot Voice – For God & Country". Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Wendy Rogers". Archives of Women's Political Communication. Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  11. ^ https://www.azsenaterepublicans.com/copy-of-wendy-rogers
  12. ^ https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2242010/trailblazers-aetc-honors-first-women-pilots-in-air-force-history/
  13. ^ https://www.azsenaterepublicans.com/copy-of-wendy-rogers
  14. ^ https://www.azsenaterepublicans.com/copy-of-wendy-rogers
  15. ^ a b c d Emery Cowan, 5 from GOP want District 1 seat in Congress, Arizona Daily Sun (August 17, 2016).
  16. ^ https://www.azsenaterepublicans.com/copy-of-wendy-rogers
  17. ^ Schapira narrowly beats Rogers in LD17, Arizona Capitol Times (November 2, 2010).
  18. ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass: 2012 Primary Election - August 28, 2012, Arizona Secretary of State.
  19. ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass: 2012 General Election - November 4, 2014, Arizona Secretary of State.
  20. ^ Donna Cassata, Beheading video used in Rogers ad against Sinema, Associated Press (October 6, 2014).
  21. ^ Official Election Canvass of Results: 2016 Primary Election - August 30, 2016, Arizona Secretary of State.
  22. ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass: 2018 General Election - November 6, 2018, Arizona Secretary of State].
  23. ^ a b Arizona Supreme Court to hear lawmaker's defamation case, Associated Press (May 5, 2021).
  24. ^ Kevin Reagan, Modeling agency suing Wendy Rogers over campaign attack ads, PinalCentral.com (February 26, 2019).
  25. ^ a b Ray Stern, Defamation case against state Sen. Wendy Rogers could have big implications for public, Arizona Republic (September 28, 2021).
  26. ^ https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/court-of-appeals-division-one-published/2020/1-ca-sa-19-0262.html
  27. ^ http://www.biahelp.com/rogers-v-hon-mroz/
  28. ^ a b c Peter Aleshire, Republicans hang onto District 6 in costly slugfest, Payson Roundup (November 4, 2020).
  29. ^ a b c Peter Aleshire, Senate candidate claims membership in controversial militia, Payson Roundup (October 27, 2020).
  30. ^ David Baker, Arizona State Senator-elect Wendy Rogers praises Robert E Lee, 3TV/CBS 5 (December 21, 2010).
  31. ^ Arizona bill would designate gun stores as essential firms, Associated Press (March 3, 2021).
  32. ^ Dennis Welch, Arizona senator wants to name major state highway after Donald Trump, KTVK 3TV & KPHO CBS 5. (February 9, 2021).
  33. ^ Bob Christie, GOP-controlled Legislature advancing anti-abortion measures, Associated Press (February 18, 2021).
  34. ^ Peter Aleshire, Senate candidate Rogers compares herself to Wisconsin gunman, White Mountain Independent (September 11, 2020).
  35. ^ a b Waltz, Adam (January 7, 2021). "Seven Arizonan Republican legislators face calls to ban them from the House and Senate". ABC 15 Arizona. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  36. ^ Laurie Roberts, Here is one GOP senator's response to Biden's win in Arizona: 'Buy more ammo', The Arizona Republic (December 14, 2020).
  37. ^ a b Joe Dana, Arizona electors confirm 11 votes for President-elect Joe Biden, KPNX (December 11, 2020).
  38. ^ a b Jim Small, Some Arizona Republicans defended, excused the violent pro-Trump mob, Arizona Mirror (January 7, 2021).
  39. ^ Molly Boigon, Arizona state senator touts appearance on network that warned against 'Jewish tyrants', Forward (June 24, 2021).
  40. ^ Kelcie Mosely-Morris (October 19, 2021). "Group of Idaho legislators sign letter calling for 50-state audit, scrubbing voter rolls". Idaho Press.
  41. ^ Aleshire, Peter (23 July 2021). "Sen. Rogers tweets "we are being replaced"". White Mountain Independent.
  42. ^ Dennis Welch, Ex-staff files ethics complaint against Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers, 3TV/CBS 5 (January 25, 2021); Ethics panel to investigate senator accused of harassment, Associated Press (February 4, 2021); Bob Christie, Arizona ethics panel tosses complaint against GOP senator, Associated Press (March 2, 2021).
  43. ^ Piper Hansen, Former staffer to Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers files $500K notice of claim against state, The Arizona Republic (March 3, 2021).
  44. ^ "Wendy Rogers". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
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