AZ GOP Primary Voters Oust Leftist-Backed County Elections Chief
Maricopa County voters recently voted to remove Stephen Richer, the county recorder who initially campaigned on a platform of election integrity but faced backlash from conservatives for dismissing their concerns after assuming office. As the results of Arizona’s Republican primary elections rolled in, Rep. Justin Heap emerged as the probable winner, leading Richer by over six points with most ballots counted. Richer’s tenure has been marked by controversies, including accusations of undermining voter integrity efforts and dismissing public apprehensions about the handling of elections, notably during the problematic 2022 midterm elections. Additionally, Richer faced allegations of receiving support from a left-wing group funded by a prominent Democrat donor, which further fueled opposition against him. Despite these controversies, when questioned about his financial backing in the election, Richer did not provide clarity. This development underscores a significant shift among voters in the county, reflecting a larger trend in the ongoing debates about election integrity in the United States.
Maricopa County voters ousted Recorder Stephen Richer, who once campaigned on election integrity but angered conservatives by rejecting those concerns after taking office, during Arizona’s primary elections on Tuesday.
With 81 percent of ballots tabulated, The New York Times and Associated Press have projected Rep. Justin Heap, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, as the winner of Maricopa’s GOP primary for county recorder. Unofficial results currently show Heap leading Richer by roughly 6.5 points (42.4 to 35.9 points). IT business consultant Don Hiatt is estimated to finish in third place, with 21.8 percent of the vote.
As recorder, Richer has used his platform to attack Arizonans concerned about the integrity of Maricopa County’s elections, worries which he professed to sympathize with during his 2020 campaign. Since taking office, he has allegedly lobbied against a commonsense voter ID ballot amendment and jumpstarted a political action committee to back candidates who share his antagonism toward election integrity efforts.
He also helped oversee Maricopa’s disastrous 2022 midterm elections and dismissed voters’ concerns about potential disenfranchisement during the contest as “conspiracy theories.”
Leading up to Tuesday’s primary, Richer’s campaign was marred by reports that the GOP recorder was receiving the backing of a leftist group funded by a prominent Democrat megadonor. AZ Free News obtained a mailer supporting Richer’s reelection that was paid for by the left-wing group Women for Justice. The mailer indicated the group used funds from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn and a major supporter of Democrat causes, to support its efforts to reelect Richer.
Hoffman most recently received pushback for reportedly saying he wished he “had made [Donald Trump] an actual martyr” days before the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He later condemned the attempt on Trump’s life and tried to clarify his comments in an X post published July 14.
Asked by The Federalist Tuesday about the financial support he apparently received from Women for Justice and Hoffman, Richer responded by email but repeatedly declined to address the question.
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