Kern and
Paul Boyer defeated Amy Schwabenlender in the November 2014 general election. Kern received 23,799 votes. In 2016, Kern and Boyer ran unopposed in the Republican primary for state House in District 20. They defeated Democrat Chris Gilfillan on November 8. Kern was the second vote getter in the election with 39,118 votes. In 2016, Kern sponsored legislation to eliminate "
free speech zones" on college and university campuses. In 2020, however, Kern introduced legislation to compel each Arizona public university to create an "Office of Public Policy Events" to track speakers invited to campus and create a report (possibly for leaders in the state legislature to review). Kern said he wanted to require universities to search for and fund speakers with alternative viewpoints on issues. In 2019, Kern was chairman of the House Rules Committee, a powerful "gatekeeper" post that allowed him to great influence. Kern held posts as chairman of the Committee on Rules and vice chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, a role in which he exerted influence over criminal justice litigation. After it was revealed in 2019 that Kern had been fired from the El Mirage Police Department for dishonesty, Kern was not removed from those roles, despite calls from some progressive groups for him to step down. holding this role simultaneously with his state House seat. A progressive activist filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee, arguing that, by accepting the deputy marshal position, Kern should be determined to have vacated his legislative seat due to the provision in the
Arizona Constitution barring legislators from
simultaneously holding other government roles. The committee dismissed the complaint in May 2019, determining that because the deputy marshal position was unpaid, Kern was not "otherwise employed" in government and that the position was not a "public office of profit or trust" that would disqualify him from the legislature. He left office on January 10, 2021. After the 2020 presidential election, in which
Joe Biden defeated
Donald Trump both nationally and
in Arizona, Kern
denied the election results and sought to overturn the election to keep Trump in power. In November and December 2020, Kern was one of several Arizona Republican legislators whom conservative activist
Ginni Thomas (the wife of Supreme Court justice
Clarence Thomas) pressed to overturn the election results and keep Trump in power. In December 2020, Kern joined Republican U.S. Representative
Louie Gohmert in a lawsuit filed in federal district court against Vice President
Mike Pence. The suit, based on Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud, sought to overturn parts of the federal
Electoral Count Act and prevent electoral votes for President-elect Biden from being counted in Congress. The suit was rejected by the courts. In December 2020, Kern was among the
fake slate of pro-Trump electors, a group of eleven Arizona Republicans who (claiming to be "alternate electors") unsuccessfully tried, in December 2022, to cast Arizona's electoral votes for Trump. Kern later depicted the violent attack as a peaceful demonstration, claiming that only "a small few" committed crimes. In February 2021, Democratic legislator
Charlene Fernandez, along with 43 other Democrats, signed a letter criticizing Kern and other Arizona Republicans (
Mark Finchem and
Paul Gosar) for their connections to the January 6 insurrection. Kern, Finchem, and Gosar sued Fernandez, claiming defamation. The court dismissed Kern's suit. Ruling that the suit was "groundless," "not made in good faith," and was filed "primarily for purposes of harassment," the court also ordered the plaintiffs to pay $75,000 in attorneys' fees to Fernandez. In April 2021 Kern was among the people helping to count and inspect ballots as part of an
"audit" of the Maricopa County presidential votes ordered by the Republican-led state Senate, though the contract for the audit said that the ballot counters would be nonpartisan. In April 2024, Kern was among the eleven "Fake Electors" indicted by Arizona Attorney General
Kris Mayes for signing a certificate, "...claiming to be Arizona's 11 electors to the Electoral College, though Biden won the state by 10,457 votes and state officials certified his electors." Overall, eighteen people were indicted. On May 21, 2024, Kern and 10 others pled not guilty after being arraigned.
Return to legislature in 2023 In 2022, Kern ran again for legislature, seeking a state Senate seat. Trump endorsed his candidacy, along with the candidacy of fellow Arizona election denier
Wendy Rogers. After the speech, Hobbs said that it was "unfortunate that some members chose an immature stunt instead, but we have really tough issues in front of us and we need to work together to stop them." Kern in April 2024 brought and guided a religious group in conducting a prayer circle over the state seal on the Arizona Senate floor, with Kern declaring: "right now, we ask thee to release the presence of the lord in the senate chamber", with the religious group
speaking in tongues; Kern later fired back at criticism over his action, characterizing critics as "god-haters", and declaring that "prayer over our state at the State Senate is way more powerful" than the critics. Later in April 2024, when Democratic Arizona Senator
Anna Hernandez tried to introduce a bill to repeal Arizona's 1864 abortion ban law, Kern repeatedly led attempts to block Hernandez's bill. In 2024, instead of running for reelection, Kern decided to run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Congresswoman
Debbie Lesko in
Arizona's 8th congressional district, however Kern lost the Republican primary to
Abraham Hamadeh, placing fifth among a crowded field. ==References==