Rep. Smith isn’t fighting forgery claims; he must resign

Rep. Austin Smith, one of the Legislature’s fiercest crusaders for election integrity, has decided not to run for reelection after all.

This, after he was accused of forging signatures on his nominating petitions.

Naturally, Smith is playing the Trump card — he’s a victim of a politically motivated plot by those who fear him.

“What I was (told) was this was a very intense effort to ‘get me’ and I needed to be prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars to defend myself, not only against the civil elections matter, but most likely against some sort of criminal investigation that would be launched by those on the left who are unhappy with my politics,” he said in a two-page statement.

And naturally, nobody’s buying that a sitting legislator would so easily fold ... if he had facts on his side, that is.

I’m guessing Republican lawmakers will immediately call on Attorney General Kris Mayes to investigate, given their constant worry about election fraud.

Republican Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman already has.

“This is a man who has lied to the people of Legislative District 29 and the entire state about our election operations for at least three years,” Hickman said in calling for Smith’s resignation and an investigation.

A Democratic attorney on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging Smith’s petitions, claiming he forged 100 of the 826 signatures and that they “bear a striking resemblance to Smith’s.”

The lawsuit included sworn statements from two voters whose signatures appear on Smith’s petitions, saying they did not sign his petitions.

It also included images of petition pages that Smith circulated, with every signature appearing to have been signed by one person.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Roy Herrera on behalf of a Democrat who lives in Smith’s West Valley district, claims Smith forged the signatures and thus should be disqualified from running for office for the next five years under state law.

If, in fact, this is some Democratic conspiracy to chase an innocent man from the Legislature, it’s curious that Smith has turned tail and run.

Democrats and Republicans routinely file lawsuits hoping to get their opponents tossed off the ballot.

It’s also routine to fight those challenges.

Smith doesn’t strike me as the type

to stand down from a fight he deems righteous.

He’s a leader in the hard-right Arizona Freedom Caucus and a senior official in Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of the hard-right Turning Point USA.

Surely, if those signatures were not forged, he would stand his ground and defend his honor.

It’s difficult to believe that Charlie Kirk and his powerhouse Turning Point operation wouldn’t help defend one of its key leaders.

Yet, there is Smith, regaling us with his victimhood.

“The recommendation I received most was that I bow out and live to fight another day,” he wrote.

“I might be confident of victory, but all it would take is a judge believing any one person, and all would be lost.”

So, he’s withdrawing from the race before he can lose.

Which suggests he doesn’t think he has much of a leg to stand on. Which suggests he doesn’t belong in the Arizona Legislature.

It’s pretty simple, really.

If Smith didn’t forge those signatures, all he has to do is bring the voters who signed them.

Who knows?

Maybe they really all do have signatures that look alike.

In which case, maybe Smith really is the victim of a vast conspiracy.

But if he isn’t, if those signatures were, in fact, forged, then he should do more than withdraw from the race.

He should resign his seat.