Back in Arizona, Bowers long has been known as a maverick willing to buck the increasingly extreme elements of his own party — sometimes with wry dismissals or a sly brand of showmanship.
Earlier this year, for instance, rather than just sitting on a bill that would have given the state legislature the power to toss out future election results, Bowers used an obscure procedural maneuver to kill it: He assigned it to 12 committees at once.
Bowers’ testimony before the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol demonstrated his inclination to follow his own moral compass, as he described resisting time after time a pressure campaign from former President Donald Trump, Trump’s then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other Republicans to remove electors for Joe Biden.
The requests, he told lawmakers on Tuesday, violated not just his oath as legislator but one of his “most basic foundational beliefs.”
Bowers, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said it was an article of faith for him that the US Constitution is “divinely inspired” and not easily cast aside.
Bowers supported Trump’s candidacy but he added: “I do not want to be a winner by cheating.”
Bowers and his family also endured repeated protests outside his home east of Phoenix, including from people who called the father of seven a corrupt politician and a pedophile, he recounted Tuesday. At one point, he said, an armed man showed up and appeared to threaten his neighbor.
Bowers is term-limited in the House and earlier this year announced a bid for the state Senate.