Few modern Christians would boast having been visited by both Jesus and the Hindu deity Krishna. But Robert Wallace isn’t like most Christians — or most anybody.

Wallace, an openly gay man who has drawn reputable endorsements despite questionable claims of election fraud — including about his last loss against Arizona Senate Republican Majority Leader John Kavanagh — is not known for holding mainstream beliefs.

Kavanagh, who won his primary against Wallace with 85% of the vote on July 21, told LOOKOUT that his opponent is a “very, very well-mannered weird person who has zero political knowledge or experience.”

Phoenix City Council Member Anna Hernandez, who was once on KTAR News with Wallace, said she believes he is unqualified to hold power at any level due to his opinion that President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for him in Arizona’s politics. 

If anything, the state’s consistent and recent wins by election deniers, conspiracy theorists and far-right militia members proves that even though Wallace may be fringe now, he appears to be in the right circles that could catapult him to more mainstream politics in the future. 

Despite criticism from his political opponents, Wallace has played a not insignificant role in Arizona’s far-right political landscape. A former ballot chase regional manager for Turning Point Action and secretary for the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans, Wallace is prolific in his involvement with Gays Against Groomers, a national organization known for their contrarian stances within the LGBTQ+ community. 

The organization has railed against gender-affirming care for minors, queer topics or discussions in school curriculum and Drag Queen Story Hour, accusing the “modern alphabet movement” of “indoctrinating” and “grooming” children.

Under Wallace’s leadership, the state chapter of GAG has lobbied to send drag artists to prison for performing in front of children, advocated for bills which have barred transgender Arizonans from using bathrooms, locker rooms and domestic shelters aligned with their gender identity, and gotten drag performances canceled at a Tucson pride-themed event, among other actions.

His podcast, “The Dark Side of the Rainbow,” has brought on a gallery of guests, from a Colorado father who said the school influenced his child to “adopt a nonbinary identity,” to Tiffany Justice, the influential leader and co-founder of nationwide anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty. He’s also had QAnon member Shaman Jacob Chansley on to discuss what they both believe is LGBTQ+ indoctrination of youth.  

And even with a recent loss behind him, Wallace shows no signs of slowing down with his political involvement. He is slated to run for Fountain Hills’ public school board in November, despite having no children himself and saying he would choose to homeschool them in the event that he does.

Standing amongst — and against — his community

Wallace spent most of his formative years in Jackson, Michigan. He said he was raised by Democratic parents and ultimately came to identify as a Republican due to his “odd duck” religious and spiritual beliefs: He is inspired by “esoteric Christian” teachings, or a mystical approach to Christianity. 

“In Christianity the teaching is to seek, first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and (then) all things will be added unto you,” Wallace said. “Through meditative techniques, I was able to learn how to stop my thoughts and perceive the esoteric and astral forms, and spiritual consciousness at will.”

He attended Full Sail University in Florida to study computer animation and Collin College to study marketing management, before ultimately attending the University of Metaphysics in Sedona, a non-accredited theological school, where Wallace says he is currently working on a doctorate in comparative religion.

Upon graduation from Collin College, Wallace worked mainly in Information Technology and real estate. But like many new-wave conservatives, he gained an interest in politics during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdown requirements and mask mandates “drew (his) attention into what was driving our country and the people who were driving it.”

According to his profile on iVoterGuide, an organization which describes itself as “the nation’s largest candidate research organization focused exclusively on informing and mobilizing voters with biblical values,” Wallace “leans conservative” on major political issues.

For example, though Wallace has been married to his husband for more than a decade, he wrote in response to an iVoterGuide survey question that he supports the view of marriage as a “God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman” that “no government has the authority to alter.”

He said he’s not in favor of nullifying same-sex marriage laws, but that he values “traditional” family structures: “The dynamics and psychology of a male-female parental unit, I think, has a distinct effect on a person,” he said.

Wallace said that because of his religious beliefs, he tried “every single way” he could to be straight before ultimately deciding it was impractical not to let love into his life. He also said he has never been so much as sneered at by Republican, Trump-supporting communities for his homosexuality.

“It’s never been easier to be a gay person than it is right now,” he said. “Some people might say that’s in large part thanks to activism for rights and things like that. Well, currently I don’t see any rights that are being withheld from gay people.”

LGBTQ+ people in Arizona lack legal protections from hate crimes, discrimination in employment or public accommodations, or if they are targets for verbal harassment within conservative events. They have also been doxxed for being openly queer in public areas such as schools or libraries. 

“This guy’s beliefs are out of this world.”

Wallace’s political career officially started in 2021, when he joined former news anchor Kari Lake’s campaign for governor. Lake had garnered the ire of LGBTQ+ communities due to her comments likening drag artists to pedophiles and promoting laws that would have stripped transgender people of legal recognition. 

Lake lost her race against Katie Hobbs in 2022 by just 1% of the total vote, and has continued to push that her race was “stolen” from her due to election interference. Wallace also believes that Hobbs lost the 2022 governor’s race, despite Republicans overperforming in other statehouse races. 

Wallace has repeatedly criticized identity politics, arguing that the government should be looking out for the majority of people's needs and not have straight people enforce "useful" policies for LGBTQ+ people. Yet Wallace has also embraced identity-based organizing himself, leading groups such as Gays Against Groomers and Log Cabin Republicans. He argues those organizations offer a perspective absent from public debate.

"We are in literally a battle of identity politics, and it's gotten to a place where they say you can't say the N-word unless you're black (or) you can't call a gay guy a fag ... if you're not gay, you can't comment on (LGBTQ issues)," Wallace told LOOKOUT. "You don't understand our plight, therefore you can have no opinion. And that is really unfair."

In 2024, he ran for Fountain Hills Town Council on a platform focused on drug trafficking, illegal immigration and broader public safety concerns, and was endorsed by Moms for America, a far-right Christian organization that rallies around parental choice and anti-LGBTQ+ platforms. 

He placed dead-last in the primary with less than 4% of 25,000 votes, but was inspired by his loss to run against Kavanagh. Wallace’s biggest gripe? That Kavanagh is a career politician, akin to other lawmakers who fresh-faced challengers running for office have said are out of touch with real issues on the ground.

“This guy has spent 50 years on the government payroll … he’s never worked at a McDonald’s. He’s never worked at a clothing store. He’s never worked in retail,” Wallace said. “(When) you’re only accumulating jobs where you have more and more power, you never have to live under the results of your power.”

For the race, Wallace created a now-defunct website called StopKavanagh.com which included videos, news articles, and data on Kavanagh’s statements and record in office. It quoted the state senator’s comments on foreign-born residents, him telling a constituent to “go to Walmart” after she compared her salary to his on a KTAR show, and a video where he is seen saying he plans to run for representative after his senate career: “screw those term limits,” he said. 

In return, Kavanagh created a website titled Weird Wallace, which prominently displays a Facebook repost by Wallace making antisemitic statements that Jews are responsible for feminism, the LGBTQ+ movement, the COVID-19 vaccine and pornography. It also includes clips from Wallace’s Spiritual Realities podcast about hallucinations and reincarnation, including his comments about his past life as a Black “gangbanger.”

Both websites depict images of their opponents generated by artificial intelligence. 

“I’ve seen bizarre things, but this guy’s beliefs are out of this world,” Kavanagh said. “(And) he has a one-issue campaign, which is, you know, I've been there too long, I’m too old, it’s time for new blood.”

Despite Kavanagh’s smear campaign, Wallace was endorsed by right-wing lawmakers, including former Tucson-area State Senator Justine Wadsack, who said he had a “fresh approach” to politics, and current state Representatives Lisa Fink and Rachel Keshel, both of whom have ties to or promoted Christian nationalist groups. He was also initially endorsed by former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who later switched his endorsement to Kavanagh. 

(Wallace told Arizona Agenda Arpaio dropped his endorsement due to threats by Kavanagh allies, a claim which the senator denied. Arpaio did not respond to requests for comment from LOOKOUT.)

On election night, Wallace lost his primary challenge to Kavanagh with 15% of more than 30,000 votes, a jump from his town council race. He said he doesn’t “even know how that’s possible,”and denies losing the race. 

Islamaphobia, Threatening Conduct from Stonewall AZ Chair

Robert Rowley, a self-described Zionist and centrist Democrat, has made posts degrading Muslims, threatened Jewish Democratic members, and has a history of incendiary conduct. Democrats can’t get rid of him.

LOOKOUTJohn Washington (he/him)

“Out of the thousands of people I talked to, a handful were in support of him,” he said. “My real world experience tells me that no, this is not an actual fair representation or reflection of the will of the people.” 

“The only thing that explains these discrepancies is this continuous lack of consistency and credibility that we're finding with election results which goes back to 2020 and maybe before,” he said, adding that there are some who say there hasn’t been a legitimate election since John F. Kennedy’s election in 1960.

He didn’t say if he was one of those people.

A run for school board

Wallace is now running for Fountain Hills school board, which he claims was his original intention back in 2024 when he ran for town council. One of his major goals in that post is to censor books he believes are of an “activist nature” or “there for the purpose of indoctrinating children.” 

“If I’m in the school board and I see somebody trying to push content that is not just math, science, reading and basic stuff of what a school is there to do … it’s crossing the line and into some form of activism,” he said.

Wallace could not name a specific book inside of the school district he is running for that he considered inappropriate, or that he would ban if elected. He couldn’t name examples from other school districts either. 

He did separately, however, name books like “Genderqueer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson as examples of “pornographic” LGBTQ+ propaganda targeted at children.

“There is a mindset of people who want to see wholesome, good morals completely eradicated … who want to see all of these do-gooders be completely shaken by all the evils of the human spirit, starting at childhood,” he said.

“Genderqueer: A Memoir” is a graphic novel about Kobabe’s experiences with gender identity from adolescence to adulthood, and is typically recommended by publishers, as well as the author, for high-school age kids due to some depictions of sex and masturbation. Meanwhile, “This Book is Gay,” which was written as a guide book for LGBT young people and includes sex education content, is officially for ages 14 and up. Both books have been challenged and banned across school and public libraries nationwide.

Fountain Hills Unified District Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Krista Andrae told LOOKOUT that it is unlikely either of those books are in any of their school libraries.

When asked about his other policy ideas for the school board, Wallace said he plans to ban “boys going into girls’ bathrooms,” and agrees with some of Kavanagh’s bills regarding the assignment of single-stall bathrooms to transgender students. Beyond that, he said he has not had time to focus on specific positions due to his senatorial campaign.

In regard to his future, Wallace said he lacks “personal ambition for politics,” despite showing up in almost every election cycle since 2020. Still, he says he only plans to run for political office where he sees gaps out of “civil duty,” with a goal for a future where all Americans live under a government and society based on individual rights. 

“Anybody could fit into it and live their life the way they want to live, without them being persecuted and without persecuting anybody else,” Wallace said. “That’s really what this is all about.”