The Navajo and Apache news outlet Mountain Daily Star reports that it has obtained an audio recording of a December 2023 conversation between Senate Representative Wendy Rogers and House candidate Ari Bradshaw. The conversation concerns allegations made by Bradshaw that House candidate Steve Slaton used the “Hard R word (the N-word)” in reference to House Representative David Marshall.
When Ari Bradshaw called attention to Slaton’s racist remarks, Wendy Rogers allegedly stood up for him and threatened to shut down Bradshaw’s campaign. The threatening text that Wendy sent to Bradshaw reads; “You better call me now or you and your campaign are about to go down in flames. Wendy Rogers,” as posted by Mountain Daily Star on X/Twitter.
Racist comments have been directed at Walt Blackman and David Marshall since 2016. In 2018, Blackman became the inaugural Black Republican to be elected to the Arizona Legislature.
Currently seeking election to the Arizona House of Representatives, Walter Blackman (Republican Party) is vying to represent District 7. He is a candidate for the July 30, 2024, Republican primary. Blackman (Republican Party) served as the District 6 representative in the Arizona House of Representatives. On January 14, 2019, he took office. He left office on January 9, 2023, according to Ballotpedia.
Who is Wendy Rodgers?
One of the most well-known far-right state legislators in the nation is Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican from Flagstaff who supports election conspiracies under Trump. Many allegations of antisemitism have been made against her. Her mysterious remark about a racist killing Black people in a Buffalo, New York, shop in 2022 prompted an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. An ethical complaint was made by one of her employees, alleging that she had harassed him at work by, among other things, body-shaming him, swearing at him, and disparaging his family. The most recent Rodger’s case was on the 19th of April, 2024, when she requested a restraining order from the court to stop a reporter from ringing her doorstep. Even after Rogers “rebuffed” her, Sanchez continued to ask some questions on the state Senate floor, leading Rogers to declare she was concerned about what Camryn Sanchez was “capable of.”