'Terrible sign': AZ election official targeted for harassment by MAGA loses GOP primary

31 July 2024

A Republican election official who has been overseeing the voting process in Arizona's most populous county for the last four years was just voted out in Tuesday night's GOP primary.

The Associated Press called the race Wednesday morning, with Republican state representative Justin Heap in a comfortable lead over incumbent Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Don Hiatt, another GOP challenger, placed third. According to NBC News, Heap had the backing of MAGA aligned GOP Senate nominee Kari Lake, who continues to insist that former President Donald Trump was the true winner of the 2020 election. She has also refused to acknowledge her loss in the 2022 gubernatorial election, in which Democrat Katie Hobbs won by roughly 17,000 votes statewide.

"I am endorsing Justin Heap for the Maricopa County recorder because we want honest elections,” said Lake last month. “We need a heap of honesty in our elections.”

After the GOP primary results were announced, both moderate conservatives and independents mourned Richer's loss. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted that Richer losing the primary was a "terrible sign for the AZ Republican Party," and noted that he "stood up for election integrity despite threats and attacks."

"Much love and gratitude to Stephen Richer and the rest who took abuse for doing their jobs with integrity in Maricopa County," tweeted Bulwark podcast host Tim Miller.

Richer was an outlier in the modern Republican Party, given his commitment to overseeing fair elections and not trafficking in election conspiracies in the midst of threats from the MAGA faction of the GOP. Maricopa County Republican Party vice chair Shelby Busch said in June that she would "lynch" Richer, and refused to walk back the comment, saying it was made "in jest." Richer condemned Busch for the remark in an interview with AZFamily.com.

“If lynching is in your vocabulary you need to have a heart to heart with yourself,” Richer said. “That shouldn’t be in your vocabulary given the history of that term and it shouldn’t be on your vocabulary to say about anyone you with whom you disagree.”

In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) after his loss was announced, Richer pledged to use the remaining few months in his position to ensure that either Heap or Democratic nominee Timothy Stringham would be able to have a smooth transition into their new role. He added that he would work to "ensure the continued efficient and lawful execution of my duties in recording, voter registration, and mail voting."

"Elections have winners and, sadly, losers. And in this one, it looks like I'm going to end up on the losing side of the column," Richer tweeted. "But that's the name of the game. Accept it. Move on."

Click here to read NBC's report in full.

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