Pivotal election official in Arizona midterms will not seek reelection

By Kyung Lah and Rashard Rose, CNN

(CNN) — Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, who faced threats for his management of the 2022 midterms and 2020 presidential election in Arizona, said Thursday he will not run for reelection.

“Today, I am announcing that I will not run for re-election to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 2024 and intend to pursue other interests and opportunities,” Gates said in a statement. “For over thirteen years it has been my honor to serve my home state of Arizona on the Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. As this chapter comes to an end, I rest well knowing that I led with integrity, compassion, and dignity.”

A source close to Gates told CNN that the announcement does not signal the end of Gates’ political career, and that he is not stepping down because of the election threats against him. He is proud, the source said, of his last two terms and accomplished what he wanted during his time at the county.

“My will to fight for the truth remains unhindered, and I look forward to Maricopa County running the 2024 election,” Gates said in his statement, which did not mention the threats.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported on his announcement, Gates will finish out his term through 2024.

On Election Day in 2022, Gates had to be moved to an undisclosed location due to threats to his safety, CNN previously reported. Gates, a Republican, had publicly pushed back against GOP suggestions that there were issues with the way the county – the largest in the state – conducted the election.

Gates, in an interview with the Post last month, shared his struggle with PTSD due to the onslaught of election lies and threats he and his family have experienced.

“This has been a family journey,” he told the newspaper at the time. “We’re all working through this together. But we had to understand that we couldn’t do this on our own. We had to reach out for help.”

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CNN’s Kaanita Iyer contributed to this story.