Sonny Borrelli[1] is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing the 30th district. He is the Senate Majority Leader. Borrelli formerly served in the Arizona House of Representatives as a representative of District 5, from January 14, 2013, to January 9, 2017.[2]

Sonny Borrelli
Majority Leader of the Arizona Senate
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byRick Gray
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 30th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byRaquel Terán
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 9, 2023
Preceded bySue Donahue
Succeeded byLela Alston
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 5th district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017
Preceded byBrenda Barton
Chester Crandell
Succeeded byPaul Mosley
Personal details
BornNew York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican

Early life and career

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Borrelli was a U.S. Marine from 1977 to 1999.[2] He moved to Arizona in 2000 and was a member of the Lake Havasu City Council from 2010 to 2012.[2]

Political career

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In the Arizona House of Representatives, Borrelli was chair of the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.[2] In the Senate he has been chair of the Government Committee and Majority Whip.[2]

Elections

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In 2012, with incumbent Republican Representatives Chester Crandell running for Arizona Senate and Brenda Barton redistricted to District 6, and with incumbent Republican Representative Doris Goodale redistricted from District 3, Borrelli ran in the four-way August 28, 2012 Republican primary, placing second with 8,672 votes,[3] and won the second seat in the November 6, 2012 general election with 35,154 votes above Democratic nominee P. L. Durbin.[4]

In 2014 Borrelli and Regina Cobb defeated Jennifer Jones, Sam Medrano and George Schnittgrund in the Republican primary. Borrelli and Cobb defeated Longoria and Weisser in the general election with Borrelli receiving 31,277 votes.[5][6]

2020 presidential election

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Following the 2020 United States presidential election, Borrelli supported the "Stop the Steal" movement which falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the election nationally and in Arizona.[7]

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In 2001, Borrelli was charged with "class 1 misdemeanor assault with domestic violence" after an altercation with his then-wife; he pleaded guilty to "class 1 misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge tagged with domestic violence", and served 1 day in prison. He subsequently explained that his then-wife had been experiencing a "meltdown" and "psychotic episode", that her injuries had been self-inflicted, and that he had plea-bargained because otherwise he risked losing custody of his son.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Sonny Borrelli's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Sonny Borrelli". Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 General Election November 6, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 9 & 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  5. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2014 General Election November 4, 2014" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 9. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns - AZ State House 05 Race - Nov 04, 2014".
  7. ^ Waltz, Adam (January 7, 2021). "Seven Arizonan Republican legislators face calls to ban them from the House and Senate". ABC 15 Arizona. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Police report provides details of 2001 Borrelli domestic violence case, by Ben Giles, in the Arizona Capitol Times; published July 25, 2016; retrieved March 7, 2019
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Arizona Senate
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Arizona Senate
2023–present
Incumbent