Republican state representative in Arizona ousted after bipartisan vote: 'If you don’t toe the line, this is what happens'

A Republican state representative in Arizona has been expelled just a few months into her first term in office.

On Wednesday morning, the Arizona state House of Representatives voted 46-13 to remove freshman Representative Liz Harris, a Republican who represented the Chandler area, easily cresting the two-thirds majority needed for expulsion. Though Republicans held a slight two-vote majority in the House, 18 members of Harris' own party joined 28 Democrats in voting to expel her for "disorderly behavior." All 13 nay votes were Republicans, and one Democrat was ill and did not cast a vote.

Harris was first elected last November, campaigning mainly on election integrity. "As we discovered in 2020, our elections are not secure," she said on her website. "We need strong legislators who are willing to fight for election integrity — so that the true voices of the Arizona citizens will be heard."

Her attempt at addressing that campaign promise quickly angered members of both parties. In February, she brought in a supposedly expert witness who spoke before the state House and Senate elections committees. During her 40-minute presentation, Jacqueline Breger, an insurance agent from Scottsdale, claimed that two women associated with Sinaloa, a Mexican cartel, used fraudulent insurance documents to launder money that they then distributed to various officials, including Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, judges, some state legislators, members of the Mesa City Council, and even leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A report from the Arizona House Ethics Committee claimed that Breger's accusations were unsubstantiated and that Harris lied when she insisted she did not know in advance that Breger would make those accusations in her presentation.

"To go down a trail of conspiracy theories that were thrown out of court, it’s very dangerous," said Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D), who made the initial ethics complaint against Harris. Stahl Hamilton also suggested that Breger's accusations were a threat to democracy.

"This comes down to the integrity, in my opinion, of this institution and us as leaders," added Republican Rep. David Livingston, who voted to expel Harris. "This is not personal."

Harris did not speak to the legislative body before the vote. Afterward, she called the accusations against her a "lie."

"God knows the truth," Harris told reporters in a parking lot as she packed her belongings into the trunk of her vehicle. "This was an example of how you need to toe the line. If you don’t toe the line, this is what happens."

Arizona law requires that whenever a state representative vacates a seat in the middle of a two-year term — because of death, resignation, or expulsion — the successor must be a member of the same party. Thus, precinct committee members from the Chandler area will soon convene and select three Republican candidates to fill Harris' seat. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will then select Harris' replacement from among those three candidates.

There is no rule prohibiting precinct committee members from nominating Harris to fill her vacated seat. However, some members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors disagree vehemently with Harris' criticisms of recent elections. Supervisor Jack Sellers, who hails from Harris' district, called the audit of the 2020 election an "adventure in Never-Never Land" and is unlikely to support Harris.

Harris' expulsion comes just days after two Tennessee Democrats, expelled from their state House for breaking chamber rules and helping activists take over the state Capitol a few weeks ago, were reinstated.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!