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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Republican candidate running for a pivotal seat in the Arizona House of Representatives is facing renewed questions about his ties to far-right paramilitary groups and his presence in Washington, D.C., during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
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Paul Carver, who currently serves as the board president of the Deer Valley Unified School District, is running in a highly competitive swing district that could ultimately decide which party controls the state House.
While Carver has recently sought to distance himself from the events of Jan. 6, including deleting Facebook posts that appeared to show him at the U.S. Capitol on the day of the riot, official records continue to raise questions about his involvement.
Specifically, in congressional testimony, the leader of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group that played a central role in attempting to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, said he had dinner with Carver in Washington, D.C., the night before the attack.
Carver’s Democratic opponent, incumbent state Rep. Stephanie Simacek (D-Dist. 2), criticized his background and involvement with extremist organizations.
“It’s disappointing that he has involvement in these extreme groups,” Simacek said in a Zoom interview. “Not only showing up on January 6th, but also being a prior member of the Three Percenters.”
The Three Percenters, specifically the “Union of Three Percenter American Patriots,” is a paramilitary organization linked to violent demonstrations across the nation, including the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. According to reporting from the Arizona Mirror, Carver served as the lead agent for the group’s Arizona chapter from April 2021 to June 2022.
Simacek argued that voters in the swing district are looking for stability rather than candidates tied to political extremism.
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“Is that what we really want? Because when I talk to voters, when I knock on doors, they’re more worried about everyday things,” Simacek said. “They don’t want somebody who’s going to be out there and destructive and denying elections and feeling like it’s okay to be violent when things don’t go your way.”
Despite the controversy surrounding Carver’s past associations, Republican leadership has heavily backed his bid for the legislature.
The House Victory Fund, a political action committee controlled by Republican House Speaker Steve Montenegro, spent more than $14,000 to bolster Carver’s campaign during the primary election, according to campaign finance filings on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website.
When asked about the financial support, Montenegro defended the expenditures in a written statement, saying in part, “The House Victory Fund supports Republican candidates in swing districts.”
Carver was unavailable for an interview to address his past ties. In a text message Thursday morning, he declined a meeting, writing, “I’m not going to be able to meet up any time soon.”
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