Richer, Heap and Hiatt face off in Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in 2023. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

A state representative and a political newcomer are angling to unseat incumbent Stephen Richer in the July 30 Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder.

Generally, races for county recorder aren’t as high-profile as this one, but Maricopa County and its elections have been in the national spotlight off and on since 2020, when Donald Trump and some of his followers claimed the election was stolen from him in several states, including Arizona.

Additionally, the position of recorder in Maricopa County carries more weight than many other counties since it is home to more than 60% of Arizona’s population — and is the fourth-largest county in the nation.

Richer has faced constant criticism and harassment from election conspiracy theorists since shortly after he took office in 2021 and began defending Maricopa County’s elections. He is currently in the midst of a defamation suit against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake for falsely accusing him of rigging the 2022 election after she lost the race for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

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One of Richer’s challengers is Rep. Justin Heap, of Mesa, who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2022 and is a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus.

Both Heap and Richer are attorneys.

The third candidate in the race, Don Hiatt, is a political newcomer with a background in information technology who has described himself as the only “MAGA” candidate in the running.

Heap has been endorsed by Lake, as well as Arizona Congressmen Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar and Eli Crane, who are all members of the congressional House Freedom Caucus, while Richer has the backing of more traditional Republicans like former Govs. Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey.

While Heap has not publicly said that he thinks the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen from Republican candidates like Lake and Trump, his comments during the House’s Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee meetings and his voting record on controversial election integrity bills speak for themselves .

Heap has voted in favor of bills that would ban electronic tabulation of ballots and force hand counts , that would eliminate the option to vote early for most Arizonans and that would bar the use of voting centers to be replaced by precincts capped at 1,000 registered voters each.

Those are all ideas that are inspired by election fraud conspiracy theories.

All have been opposed by Arizona counties, and election officials have widely panned the proposals as completely unworkable.

“Maricopa County elections are a laughing stock,” Heap posted on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, on Feb. 28. “Voter confidence is at an all-time low. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I’m running for Recorder to restore honesty, transparency & integrity in our elections.”

In Maricopa County, the recorder is in charge of early mail-in voting and maintaining the voter registration database, while the county’s Board of Supervisors oversees in-person voting and tabulation.

When Richer ran for recorder in 2020, he released a lengthy review of the county’s election administration in the 2018 election, when the office was headed by Democratic now-Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. But soon after taking office, Richer began defending the county’s election practices and the integrity of its election results amidst claims of a stolen election and a now-debunked partisan “audit” of Maricopa County’s election results ordered by Republicans in the state Senate.

Hiatt has criticized Heap for refusing to say whether he believes prior elections were stolen. But Hiatt and Heap both boasted similar action plans for once they took office, including moves they claim will prevent fraud, make elections more secure and transparent and clean up the voter rolls. Heap also promised faster election results, something he would not fully have control over as county recorder.

Richer is running on his record of cleaning up the voter rolls, traditional conservatism and openness and transparency regarding election processes.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic candidate Timothy Stringham  in November.

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The post Richer, Heap and Hiatt face off in Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder appeared first on Arizona Mirror .