no Republicans looked for, paid attention when others did, or accepted it when there was a valid finding
I don't have direct personal knowledge of the Maricopa County Republican establishment, but do still know some good folks in the LA county Rep. CC who have long complained that Maricopa is run by a bunch of old-line C of C squish types, and long-time McCain cronies. It's not that people with "official" R positions haven't noticed, its that the establishment "Republican" mooks are actually in on the grift.
I'm sure you remember the execrable David Dreier, the last "Republican" representative of the 38th CD. He would regularly come to the district and say all of the right things, and then turn around and stab us in the back, not just on public policy issues (eg immigration), but behind the scenes at state conventions, where the real party leadership gets hashed out. He would come to the victory breakfasts, the CRA meetings, the women's federated and mouth the proper platitudes, and then advance the Chamber of Commerce line. Every. Single. Time.
The story I'm told is that it's much the same in Maricopa county. Almost like a time warp. Lake's willingness to shine a light on this corruption is a good thing though.
There IS a path forward, through the county committees, the state parties, and every local dog catcher election. The conservatives never could muster the energy to keep up the fight long enough, but this new generation of populists may well be made of sterner stuff. Lake's lawsuit is a shot across the bow of the good ship Squish, and a call to arms to the populist-right base. I am cautiously hopeful.
Thanks for your comments.
Mine were not meant to address local characters, although
they are certain fair game. I was addressing the leadership
who might just as well have been decades long Democrats for
all the help they were to Trump after the 2020 election.