PHOENIX (AP) — Mark Brnovich, Arizona’s top law enforcement official, has died as the state became the epicenter of President Donald Trump and his allies’ efforts to find evidence of fraud in the 2020 election. He is 59 years old.
Brnovich died of a heart attack on Monday, family representative Katie Connor said Tuesday.
Brnovich’s colleagues and friends praised his work in public service, including as a judge, prosecutor, attorney and director of the Arizona Gaming Department. Former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Brnovich’s passion for law, justice and victims was the hallmark of his career.
“For those of us lucky enough to call him a friend, his humor, positivity and joyful warrior spirit were contagious. May he rest in peace,” Ducey said on social platform X.
Brnovich, a Republican, was in his second term as Arizona’s attorney general when his office launched an investigation into the 2020 election. Arizona was one of the states that Joe Biden won that year that prevented Trump from being re-elected as president.
Brnovich issued an interim report in April 2022 outlining his concerns about some election procedures, but it did not provide any evidence of major problems despite a six-month investigation.
At the time, Brnovich was seeking the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat and faced harsh criticism from Trump, who claimed he had not done enough to prosecute election fraud. Brnovich hoped for Trump’s support but didn’t get it.
Current Attorney General Chris Meyers revealed when he took office that Brnovich withheld the findings from investigators. Mace said records show the 2020 election “was conducted fairly and accurately by election officials.”
The documents she released also show that Brnovich kept a separate memo that systematically refuted election conspiracies rooted in the right, including allegations of dead or duplicate voters, pre-marked ballots flown in from Asia, election servers connected to the internet and even the manipulation of satellites controlled by the Italian military.
Meyers posted on X that she was saddened to hear of Brnovich’s sudden death and said he had devoted many years to public service. She expressed her condolences to his wife Susan and their family.
Brnovich lost the 2021 Republican primary for U.S. Senate. In a video launching his campaign, Brnovic said he was the son of immigrants who fled communism in Yugoslavia. He said he uses his position as attorney general to fight “crony capitalists” and government overreach while promoting religious freedom, border security and election integrity.
In April, Trump nominated Brnovic to serve as ambassador to Serbia, but withdrew the nomination in October.
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McAvoy reported from Honolulu.