In the Yuma County Recorder race, Republican David Lara leads Democrat Emilia Cortez by nearly 10,000 votes, although some votes have not yet been counted.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Lara appeared to be the choice for voters in Yuma County.
Lara has gained notoriety in recent years for his claims of fraud and outright fraud in elections in the city of San Luis, Arizona, which he has witnessed firsthand over the years. He specifically said vote harvesting was exported to other states to influence the 2020 election.
Lara was also a featured speaker at this year’s Republican National Convention, highlighting concerns about illegal immigration and its impact on border communities.
A month after Lara won the July primary, the Yuma County Board of Supervisors voted to end a pilot program that placed election responsibility under the Yuma Recorder. This approach was unique among counties in the state.
Mr. Lara’s successor, Republican Rick Colwell, told KAWC over the summer that the pilot project allowed for flexibility and rapid response to registration and voting issues.
After the vote, a committee that included board members, attorneys and the incumbent recorder was given responsibility for the election. Supervisor Lynne Pankraj said after the August vote that separating registration and voting will give the recorder candidates time to acclimate, as both will be serving for the first time.
Lara told KAWC that he believed the move was an attempt to exclude him from the election, asking: “What are they afraid of?”
Lara is riding a wave of Republican support in Yuma County, where the latest numbers show former President Donald Trump widening his margin of victory in the county in 2020. Trump’s lead over Biden in 2020 was +6. As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump was up 30 points over Democrat Kamala Harris.
