QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. — California native and now local Arizona state Senator and Troll Farm Operator Jake Hoffman has flown largely under the radar in Arizona, despite being a driving force of MAGA extremism propaganda and misinformation across the country.
Last Week, Arizona Politics and Issues Reporter Ray Stern wrote an in depth profile of Hoffman. It’s incredibly detailed and covers many of Hoffman’s shenanigans.
“Both in his political and business life, Hoffman has made a career of antagonizing Democrats and moderate Republicans, all the while promoting — and monetizing — his uncompromising political views. Well-connected and politically savvy, Hoffman has outsized influence in the Senate and a close relationship with Senate President Warren Petersen.”
We in Arizona Legislative District 15 (D15) know Hoffman well. He is a MAGA Republican extremist who wrote and passed a law that outlawed diversity education in our state agencies. He hired teenagers and taught them how to spread misinformation. He signed fraudulent electoral documents and helped lead the criminal conspiracy to overturn the will of the voters in 2020. He is helping hate group Moms for Liberty organize to take over our local school boards to implement their racist policies, book bans, and bullying of LGBTQ children.
Hoffman even blocked bills to fund the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind and then preventing the legislature from funding the Deaf schools for more than 2 years to ensure he gets to try again to shut down education for Deaf and blind children in Arizona. This has caused a lot of unnecessary fear and anxiety for families of Deaf and blind children across the entire state.
Stern quotes some of Hoffman’s demonization of Democrats. Hoffman calls Dems “‘anti-American’ members of the ‘party of death and destruction.’” He calls Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) a “monster” and claims that Arizona Governor Hobbs has an “insane leftist agenda.”
Stern even details the conflicts and drama that Hoffman has stirred up with his own allies, including the time Hoffman said that the former House Speaker Rusty Bowers’ refusal to help Hoffman overturn the 2020 elections was “lunacy.”
Hoffman made his name and gained infamy with his political marketing firm Rally Forge, which employed and trained teenagers to spread disinformation before he was first elected to the Arizona Legislature.
Hoffman even took out a PPP loan to run his troll farm operation. PPP loans were meant to help small businesses affected by COVID to stay afloat, but Hoffman took the loan for a new business conducting questionable activity whose staff could certainly have worked remotely from home.
Social media firms shut down accounts associated with Rally Forge and even shut down Hoffman’s personal accounts.
“His high profile and his intense focus on 2020 election issues could also cause some personal trouble for him: He's a likely target of Democratic state Attorney General Kris Mayes' office as one of 11 Republicans who, as "alternate electors," engaged in a coordinated multistate plan to try to flip the 2020 election for then-President Donald Trump.”
Fraudulent electors in other states have already been charged with felonies.
Stern calls Hoffman a “superstar” of the far right. We would agree that this is true in certain circles.
This year, Stern explains, “Hoffman has used [his position as Chair of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations] as an inquisition to purge perceived leftism from the ranks of state agency heads appointed by Hobbs and a bully pulpit to advance right-wing talking points.”
“He’s usually at the forefront of far-right issues like conspiracy-minded election changes or opposing LGBTQ+ rights.”
Hoffman has some allies in the extremist wing of the legislature but has made quite a few enemies in the moderate wing of his party.
While Stern did touch on Hoffman’s blockade of funding for the Deaf schools, I think it’s important for us to emphasize that Hoffman the amount of anxiety created by that particular political game is serious. Deaf schools across the country have faced random and sometimes sudden closures because of small government fanatics like Hoffman. This is a real threat and fear in the Deaf community.
A furious Hobbs said, "It just seemed very inappropriate to be targeting deaf and blind children in that way and putting their educational needs at risk."
Stern covers Hoffman’s rise from gym coach to powerful legislator via his circle of wealthy, powerful friends, including his good friend Sen. Warren Peterson who happens to be a real estate developer and who sold Hoffman a custom home at a loss just in time for Hoffman to qualify to run for Queen Creek Town Council.
Stern also goes into detail about Hoffman’s incredibly lucrative side gig as a troll farm operator in which he hired, trained, and paid teenagers to spread disinformation online. The article even details the connection of Hoffman’s troll farm to then President Trump and Hoffman’s use of dark money.
The article’s final section details Hoffman’s role in the criminal conspiracy to overturn our elections. Hoffman even sent a letter to then-Vice President Pence asking him to ignore the will of Arizona voters and let the Arizona state Legislature choose Trump electors. Hoffman is now under criminal investigations for his role in this.
We are looking for someone to run against Jake "Troll Farm" Hoffman. Have you ever thought about running for office? We have lots of resources available to candidates in Arizona, including public campaign funding, candidate training, local organizing support and more. Reach out to us, and we can answer your questions.
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