A small group of Republicans announced Monday that they would support Tim Stringham, the Democratic candidate for Maricopa County recorder, saying they would not vote for Republican Justin Heap.
The group included Mesa City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury, former John McCain aide Bettina Nava, and local business owner Anne Wallach. The three voted against Heap, a sitting state representative, because he aligns with “extreme” candidates and plans to overhaul the electoral process. He said he would not.
Spilsbury said she and Heap live in the same Mesa area and are active in the same circles as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but she could not “in good conscience” vote for him. Ta.
“We cannot have someone in this office who continues to deny the results of the election,” Spilsbury said at a press conference Monday. “We cannot hire someone to call our election a ‘laughing joke.'”
Spilsbury said: Arizona State Capitol Times He’s heard similar sentiments from his Republican friends, who say not everyone wants to publicly admit they vote Democratic. She also said she plans to vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump and Ruben Gallego over Kali Lake.
Mr. Nava, a Republican strategist who worked both on Mr. McCain’s campaign and in his Senate office, highlighted support for Mr. Heap from “extremists” such as Mr. Lake and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She also cited his tendency to miss debates and avoid interviews with the press.
“We don’t need any more election denialism,” Nava said at a press conference. “We don’t need someone who sneaks into office without ever meeting the press or talking to voters. What we need is a competent county recorder.”
Mr. Heap has not said whether he believes the 2020 or 2022 elections were stolen, but he aligns himself with candidates such as Mr. Trump, Mr. Lake and Mr. Abe Hamadeh, all of whom have been involved in campaign campaigns. Alleges conspiracy theories related to the failure. That prompted many Republicans, including Spilsbury, Nava and Wallach, to support Stringham after incumbent Recorder Steven Richer lost in July’s Republican primary.
Wallach compared Stringham to Richer at a news conference, saying he would work to build voter confidence during his four-year term “just like Stephen Richer did.”
Nava said it would not be a stretch to support Stringham, who like McCain is a Navy veteran and plans to support many of the county’s election procedures that Heap has supported eliminating, including early voting. .
Many of Heap’s supporters say Stringham’s lack of experience in public office would prevent him from being a good recorder, but Spilsbury believes that could be an asset. He said there was.
“I think sometimes that’s what we need,” Spilsbury said. “We don’t want the people who are already in there who are perverse.”
Spilsbury said he has seen firsthand the effects of political polarization and election denialism on county officials and employees over the past four years, and praised Stringham for his willingness to participate in elections despite this. He said he was doing it.
“I know some of these men personally, and what they had to go through was absolutely awful,” Spilsbury said. “It’s really impressive that someone would be willing to do something like that.”
Nava encouraged voters to consider Stringham as an opportunity to restore competency to the recorder’s office now that Richer will not return.
“[Stringham is] I just came here to be professional,” Nava said at a press conference. “And we’ve had professionals in our history. So let’s bring one back.”
