Peggy Judd
Peggy Judd | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 25th district | |
| In office January 2011 – January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Fleming |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 25, 1962[1] Willcox, Arizona[2] |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kit Judd |
| Residence(s) | Willcox, Arizona |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona (B.A. 2003) |
| Profession | Politician |
Peggy Suzanne Judd[3] is an American politician from Arizona. A member of the Republican Party, she was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2011 to January 2013 (from Arizona's 25th legislative district). She was elected to the Cochise County Board of Supervisors in November 2016.[4]
Early life, education, and career
[edit]Judd holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona, and an architectural drafting technician certificate from the Phoenix Institute of Technology.[5] As of 2010–11, her occupation was variously reported as administrative assistant[6] and as "architectural drafting and reception/manager" at Willcox Real Estate Co.[5]
Arizona House of Representatives
[edit]She won election to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010, from Arizona's 25th legislative district, and took office in 2011.[6] Before being elected to the House, she was part of the Willcox Tea Party and a precinct committeewoman for the Cochise County Republican Party.[6][5] She was recruited to run by Gail Griffin.[6] Judd spent a single term in the House (in the 50th Legislature), and chose not to seek reelection in 2012.[7]
Cochise County supervisor
[edit]In November 2016, Judd was elected to the District 3 seat on the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, defeating Democratic candidate David Pinar.[4] Her district covers the northern part of the county.[8]
Attempts to overturn 2020 election
[edit]In the November 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump, both in Arizona and nationally. Trump attempted to subvert the election outcome to remain in power.[9] From November to December 2020, Judd, along with fellow Republican county supervisor Tom Crosby, delayed the canvass of the Cochise County results of the November 2022 election, disregarding the deadline set by state law.[1][10] The supervisors' refusal to canvass the county votes prompted chaos, threatening to disrupt the elections for state schools superintendent and for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives seat.[11] A judge ultimately ordered the board to certify the results of the election.[11]
After the November 6 election, Judd made public Facebook posts calling on God to guide Vice President Pence to unilaterally reject the election outcome during the counting of the electoral votes, which Pence declined to do.[9] On January 6, 2021, Judd attended the Trump rally in Washington, D.C., that immediately preceded a march that led to the Capitol insurrection, in which a violent pro-Trump mob assaulted the Capitol and disrupted the counting of the electoral votes that formalized Biden's victory.[9] On the evening of January 6, Judd posted photos of the march on her Facebook profile and praised the day's events.[9] Later, Judd denied approaching the Capitol during the January 6 attack, but a timestamped photo that she shared with the Tucson Sentinel "seemed to demonstrate that the Judds were much closer to the Capitol than Judd had previously admitted."[9]
In interviews and statements, Judd spread disinformation about the attack (falsely claiming that the U.S. Capitol Police and left-wingers had orchestrated that attack or entrapped Trump supporters to "make Trump look bad").[9] On her Facebook posts, she also shared slogans from the disproven, far-right QAnon conspiracy theory movement.[9] After the attack, Judd faced calls for her resignation, and she deleted both her personal Facebook page and official Facebook pages.[9]
Indictment and aftermath
[edit]Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes subsequently investigated Judd's and Crosby's conduct in delaying the canvass of the Cochise County votes. In November 2023, a state grand jury indicted both officials on felony charges of interference with an election officer and criminal conspiracy.[11] Judd and Crosby pleaded not guilty.[12]
An effort in 2023 to gather signatures to trigger a recall election of Judd and Crosby was unsuccessful.[13]
Judd was named chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors in May 2023, but stepped down from that role from that position in January 2024, citing the ill health of her husband, Kit Judd.[8] However, Judd did not resign from the Board.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Peggy Judd". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ "Peggy Judd". State of Arizona. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ Attorney General Mayes Announces Grand Jury Indictment, Arizona Attorney General, November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Eric Petermann & Carol Broeder, Peggy Judd wins Dist. 3 supervisor race over Pinar, Arizona Range News (November 16, 2016).
- ^ a b c Luke Money, Goals same in Dist. 25 House race, Arizona Daily Star (October 11, 2010).
- ^ a b c d Sarah Whitmire, New lawmaker profile: Rep. Peggy Judd, R-Willcox, Cronkite News Service via Arizona Capitol Times (February 10, 2011).
- ^ Judd does not plan to run for 2nd term, Herald Review (February 21, 2012).
- ^ a b c Terri Jo Neff, Judd seeks to step down as county board chair but will retain her seat, Herald/Review (January 20, 2024).
- ^ a b c d e f g h Beau Hodai, Cochise Sup. Judd spreads conspiracy myths, deletes Facebook after taking part in Jan. 6 Capitol march, Tucson Sentinel (January 25, 2021).
- ^ Porier, Shar (28 November 2022). "Judd, Crosby again delay canvass". Herald/Review Media.
- ^ a b c Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona officials charged with conspiring to delay midterm election outcome, Washington Post (November 29, 2023).
- ^ Arizona indicts 18 Republicans, including Giuliani, Meadows, over 2020 fake elector scheme, Associated Press (April 24, 2024).
- ^ Sarah Lapidus, Will there be a recall election for Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby?, Arizona Republic (May 4, 2023).