Candidates for Maricopa County recorder have raised nearly $1 million for their campaigns, making it the most expensive race for recorder in county history.
Democrat Tim Stringham and Republican Justin Heap had raised a combined $965,000 as of September 30, according to campaign finance reports filed on October 15.
Most of the money came from Stringham’s campaign, which raised $612,000 during the race. This revenue is nearly double the $353,000 raised by Heap’s campaign.
This year’s fundraising exceeds the previous high in the 2020 recorder’s race, when Republican Recorder Stephen Richer and Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes raised a combined $706,000. He won that race despite raising about $90,000 less than Mr. Fontes).
And that in itself eclipsed his fundraising efforts in the last election in 2016, when Mr. Fontes raised about $176,000 and defeated longtime Republican Rep. Helen Purcell, who raised just $28,000. It was a miniaturization.
Surge in donations shows Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is getting attention In recent years, it has been at the center of a large-scale tug of war over election management. Protests were held across the United States by those defending the integrity of the country’s election system and by allies of former President Donald Trump, who promoted untrue claims that past elections were stolen.
Stringham, a military veteran, has said he is running to stop election deniers from taking over, and has been flooded with donations from donors outside of Arizona. The campaign raised $535,000 from July 14 to September 30, including $157,000 from out-of-state donors.
Most of that money, about $332,000, went to political consultants, including a $248,336 payment to Washington-based Purple State Strategies.
Heap, a state representative backed by President Trump, received about $215,000 from July to September, including $4,800 in out-of-state donations. His single largest expense was $94,385 in advertising paid to 1Ten, a company run by state Sen. Jake Hoffman. “Fake elector” suspect The person who scouted Heap to run for recorder.
