Arizona State Representative Justin Heap (R-Mesa) defeated incumbent Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in the Republican primary election on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, unofficial election results published by Maricopa County show Heap ahead of Richer (picture above, left) by nearly 7 percentage points (42.37 percent – 35.88 percent) with approximately 81 percent of the vote counted.
Richer conceded the race to Heap early Wednesday morning, writing in an X post, “It’s been a privilege. Thank you. 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. But that’s the name of the game. Accept it. Move on.”
It's been a privilege. Thank you.
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.
But that's the name of the game. Accept it. Move on.
Congratulations to @azjustinheap on winning the primary…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) July 31, 2024
“Congratulations to [Justin Heap] on winning the primary,” Richer said.
Richer further said he will work to “ensure the continued efficient and lawful execution of my duties in recording, voter registration, and mail voting” and “ensure that either [Heap] or [Tim Stringham] has everything he needs to hit the ground running in January 2025” during his remaining time in office.
“As for me, I’m excited for whatever comes next,” Richer added. “And if it’s back in business, out of the spotlight, well … that sounds just dandy!”
Richer’s defeat in the Tuesday primary comes as he has been under immense criticism for maintaining that there were only “minor” problems during the 2022 election.
Heap (pictured above, right), who has been serving in the Arizona House of Representatives for just over a year, was endorsed by high-profile Republicans leading up to Tuesday’s primary, including Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake – who also won her primary race on Tuesday against Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, according to its website, is “responsible for maintaining voter files for more than 2.6 million active registered voters in Maricopa County.”
The Recorder’s Office also “partners with the Maricopa County Elections Department to plan and hold jurisdictional, county, state, and federal level elections for all eligible Maricopa County voters.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Justin Heap” by Justin Heap and “Stephen Richter” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
