Critic of Arizona’s elections operations unseats incumbent election official in GOP primary

PHOENIX (AP) — A critic of Arizona's voting operations has unseated the Maricopa County recorder in a Republican primary. Elsewhere, races were undecided with thousands of ballots left to be counted statewide.

The work continued Wednesday.

Voters delivered victories to some front-runners in Tuesday's primary election, namely former Phoenix television news anchor and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. She defeated Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in a Republican U.S. Senate primary that headlined the election statewide and will face Democrat Ruben Gallego in November.

Primaries in three congressional races and one noteworthy state legislative race where abortion politics left a Republican candidate vulnerable were too early to call.

Here's a look at some key races:

Maricopa County

State Rep. Justin Heap of Mesa seized on the first opportunity to unseat election officials who knocked down false claims about the 2020 and 2022 elections. He defeated both Stephen Richer, the incumbent, and information technology professor Donald Hiatt in the GOP primary for Maricopa County recorder.

Richer took office in early 2021 after unseating a Democratic incumbent. He drew criticism in some conservative circles for calling out former President Donald Trump and others for falsehoods about the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won in Arizona by 10,457 votes.

Richer was later criticized by Lake, who claimed her defeat in the 2022 governor’s race was due to election fraud. Even though her legal challenges were rejected by the courts, Lake continues to claim that Richer and other Maricopa County officials interfered in the election to prevent her from winning.

Richer later filed a defamation lawsuit against Lake, saying he faced “violent vitriol and other dire consequences” because of lies spread by Lake, including death threats and the loss of friendships.

Richer said he has done his best to defend the integrity of the election system in the face of falsehoods, has worked to clean up voter rolls and has been on the winning side of lawsuits that challenge election results.

The recorder’s office runs voter registration and early voting efforts in the state’s most populous county.

Heap stops short of saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen but said thousands of Republicans voters don’t have faith in the county’s election operations. Like Hiatt, Heap said the county has insecure practices for handling early ballots.

Heap will face the race’s lone Democrat, attorney Tim Stringham, in the Nov. 5 general election.

US House

8th District: Front-runners Abraham Hamadeh and Blake Masters both received endorsements from Trump as they try to clench the Republican nomination in the district northwest of Phoenix. It's considered the epicenter of efforts by Trump allies to cast doubts on the validity of election results.

Whoever wins has a good chance of succeeding Republican U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko because the district leans conservative. The other candidates are: former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma, state Rep. Anthony Kern and political newcomer Patrick Briody. Greg Whitten, a biosecurity worker, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. 1st District: Six Democrats are facing off for a chance to flip the nationally competitive seat that encompasses parts of Maricopa County. Biden won the district in 2020.

Ex-state Rep. Amish Shah, ex-local news anchor Marlene Galán-Woods, former state treasurer hopeful and state party chair Andrei Cherny, and investment banker Conor O'Callaghan were in a close four-way race. The other candidates are orthodontist Andrew Horne and former regional American Red Cross CEO Kurt Kroemer.

One of them will look to unseat incumbent Rep. David Schweikert who breezed through the GOP primary in November. Schweikert’s reputation has been tarnished in recent years by ethics scandals. In 2022, Schweikert received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Elections Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee.

Schweikert defeated businessman Robert Backie, and ex-FBI agent and corporate investor Kim George.

3rd District: Two Arizona Democrats are eyeing the seat left vacant by Ruben Gallego's decision to run for U.S. Senate. Ex-Phoenix City Councilmember Yassamin Ansari and ex-Arizona Democratic Party chair Raquel Terán were locked in a close race. The left-leaning district spans central and southwest Phoenix.

Ansari has touted herself as progressive candidate who will “stand up to MAGA extremism” and defend abortion rights.

Terán, a former state Senate minority leader, emphasizes her success as an organizer and a key player in ousting Joe Arpaio from the Maricopa County sheriff's post. Jeff Zink, who claimed Biden’s victory in 2020 was stolen, defeated Jesus David Mendoza to win the Republican nomination.

Arizona Legislature

Senate District 2: Republican Shawnna Bolick was one of two senators to side with Democrats this year in repealing an 1864 near total-abortion ban. She was appointed to the seat last summer to fill a vacancy. Her popularity among voters in the competitive northwest Phoenix district will be tested for the first time as results keep rolling in. She faced small business owner Josh Barnett, who leans further to the right. Barnett has said Bolick's vote on the abortion bill was politically calculated as the district has become more purple.

Senate District 7: State Sen. Wendy Rogers kept her status as incumbent in the race for a seat that represents a vast district including Flagstaff, and parts of Navajo, Gila and Pinal counties. Rogers is a prolific election denier who aligned with Trump and has been censured by the Legislature after backing white nationalism. Still, she’s popular with her base and has a national following. Her primary opponent, state Rep. David Cook, had criticized her for not focusing on more local issues like mining and water. The Democratic primary between Haley Creighton and Roberto Reveles was too early to call Wednesday.

Senate District 1: Former state Rep. Mark Finchem, a fierce Trump loyalist, defeated incumbent state Sen. Ken Bennett for the GOP nomination in the reliably red district anchored by Prescott. Finchem was a prolific proponent of the lie that former President Donald Trump lost his 2020 reelection because of widespread fraud, which has been repeatedly debunked by courts, election experts and Trump’s own attorney general. Bennett, a former secretary of state and state Senate president, represented the more moderate choice for voters. A third candidate, real estate broker Steve Zipperman, trailed. Voters will choose between Finchem and Democrat Mike Fogel in the general election.