Caught on camera: Candidates try to recast past remarks

The candidates running to be Arizona’s top elections official on Monday tried to recast controversial comments they made during the primary campaign.

During a joint appearance before the editorial board of both candidates for Arizona secretary of state defended themselves over statements they made while trying to win over base voters in their parties.

Republican Steve Gaynor claims he never called for changing federal law to stop ballots from being printed in Spanish. He embraced the stance just weeks ago.

State Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, said comments she made about how winning the seat would help Democrats hold onto elected offices were really about ending voter suppression.

The challenge with both defenses: Their original comments were captured on video and posted online.

Gaynor and Hobbs are their party’s nominees for secretary of state, the state’s No. 2 office and the state’s chief elections officer.

Here’s a review of their comments, and what they’re saying now:

Gaynor drew flak — and praise — during the Republican primary when he said that the United States should stop printing ballots in any language other than English.

On Monday, Gaynor took a completely different stance.

“I think you misunderstood my position,” he said. “I was not advocating to take Spanish off the ballot. As far as ballots are concerned, I wouldn’t touch a thing. I would let the process work and comply with the law.”

On Aug. 11, Gaynor said, in response to a question at a GOP candidate forum in Wickenburg, that he wants ballots printed only in English.

“I would be the first to say it should be ... ballots, information pamphlets, all the material in our country, should be in English,” he said, according to a video of the event posted on Facebook.

Gaynor immediately followed up that sentence by advocating for Arizonans to help elect senators who would repeal part of the Voting Rights Act that created the requirement.

Now, Gaynor argues his stance was misconstrued from the outset.

On Monday, he said he wasn’t advocating for changing the section of the Voting Rights Act that deals with nonEnglish ballot requirements. He said he was talking about a different part of the act that governs voter-registration requirements.

“That was a misunderstanding,” Gaynor said. “I was not suggesting that that (non-English language) part of the law be overturned. I thought I was clear. Apparently, I wasn’t.”

Hobbs also tried to recast a statement that has drawn criticism.

Speaking at a Flagstaff gathering of Democrats on April 13, Hobbs said that having her in the position would help those in her party hold offices they win in the Nov. 6 election.

“We have so much opportunity this year. I think we’re going to do really well in electing statewide Democrats,” Hobbs said.

“And the secretary of state’s office is how we’re going to hold onto those wins, how we’re going to continue to make gains in the Legislature, and really create a state that reflects all of our values.”

Hobbs’ comments came after she talked about how she thinks the elections system in Arizona is rigged to exclude some voters.

On Monday, Gaynor chided Hobbs over the comments: “She said on the campaign trail, that if she became secretary of state, she wanted to use the office to elect more Democrats.” Hobbs immediately fired back. “That is not what I said,” she said. “What I’m talking about is leveling the playing field. The playing field is not fair right now because there are things in place that keep people from voting. That’s all I’m talking about.”

Hobbs has often talked about the need for the office to be nonpartisan during her campaign.

She said her comments were about how Arizona has laws and practices that make it harder for certain types of people, such as minorities, students and low-income workers, to vote.