An indicted fake elector is running for Congress in an Arizona GOP district. Will it hurt or help?

The indictments of 11 Republican "fake electors," including a state senator who is running for Congress, who tried to falsely certify the 2020 presidential election in Arizona was met with condemnation, or silence, from across the GOP.

Arizona Republicans largely did not address the underlying act of submitting official paperwork that falsely suggested they were the legal presidential electors, which prosecutors characterize as an unprecedented plot to subvert the will of Arizona voters that has stoked mistrust in U.S. elections.

Instead, they called the indictments judicial overreach by Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.

The Arizona Republican Party put out a statement calling the indictment part of an "unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power" meant to hurt the prospects of former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term in office.

The 11 indicted fake electors include state Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, who is running for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., and state Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who is seeking another term in the Arizona Legislature.

Both candidates for public office have been indicted on felony counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.

There's nothing disqualifying people from serving in U.S. Congress if they've been indicted or convicted of a felony, according to the Congressional Research Service. In some cases, House rules restrict their participation in congressional activities such as voting or leadership posts.

Hoffman would not be able to serve in the Arizona Legislature if he were convicted, but he could continue to serve until that point.

Another possibility is that if those candidates win, their colleagues could expel them from their posts, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

"It can't be good news for them," Tobias said in an interview.

Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case. Seven Trump allies also were indicted along with fake electors.

Trump and his allies have faced similar charges in states where other "fake elector" schemes happened, such as Georgia and Michigan.

Dozens of lawsuits across the country have failed to surface evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Still the Arizona "fake electors" have stood by their unsupported claims about the elections, and their views are shared by a passionate portion of the GOP electorate.

Tobias speculated that the case against the "fake electors" seems strong based on the fact that numerous prosecutors across the country have come to the same conclusions. Many of the people charged in the grand jury indictments announced Wednesday by Mayes, including some of Trump's top allies, are facing similar charges in other states.

"It's not an accident that some of these same players keep reappearing as defendants in various states," Tobias said.

Kern is part of a crowded GOP primary race in the West Valley's solidly Republican 8th Congressional District. The indictment put his rivals in the awkward position of deciding whether to criticize Kern over the charges or support him and risk making him a hero to the conservative voters they are courting.

Among his primary competitors is Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale.

In a 2021 interview with The Arizona Republic, former House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said Toma asked Trump’s allies questions at the Dec. 1, 2020, closed-door meeting at the state Senate that included Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Reached for comment, Toma said he wasn't familiar with the details of the case but wrote in a text message that Mayes has made her office "highly political" and that “everyone should be highly suspect of everything that comes out of this AG’s office.”

Blake Masters, Kern's Republican rival who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, similarly accused Mayes of "persecuting her political enemies."

Abe Hamadeh, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the race who unsuccessfully ran against Mayes in 2022, released a statement calling the indictment a "sham" and an effort to "abuse the justice system." Hamadeh has challenged his narrow election loss in the attorney general’s race to no avail.

Former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., another candidate running against Kern, said he believes the indictment amounts to a "weaponization of the law" by the Democrats, which he called an "incredibly dangerous thing" for the country.

At the same time Franks said he doesn't think he personally would have participated in the fake elector effort. Asked why not, he said: "I would've had to have been sure that I was acting in a constitutional framework. And quite honestly, I don't know what affidavits were signed. I would have to know that my affidavit was true and accurate."

Franks has previously said he doesn't think Biden won the 2020 presidential election "fairly," but that "the argument can be made" that the Democrats' election behavior was "quasi-legal."

Ron Smith, a spokesperson for Kern's campaign, shrugged off the charges and said he doesn't expect Kern will suspend his campaign as a result.

"Senator Kern did not do anything wrong, and we're full-steam ahead," Smith said.

Likewise, Hoffman wrote in a statement Wednesday evening that he was "innocent of any crime."

The indictments allege that the two lawmakers falsely claimed they were "duly elected and qualified" and urged Arizona officials and former Vice President Mike Pence to accept their elector votes in favor of Trump, a move which would have undermined the legitimate election result.

Republic reporter Ronald J. Hansen contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How will Anthony Kern's indictment affect his bid for Congress?