The MAGA effort to take over Maricopa County gets underway in earnest this week, as far-right forces begin working to oust Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.
According to MAGA mythology, Richer is the Beelzebub of county government. He is the devil who single-handedly denied Kali Lake her duty with the support of his dark angel, the (Republican-run) Board of Supervisors.
Never mind that the Republican recorder has not provided any evidence or explanation as to why he would try to rig the election to put a Democrat as governor. (I stopped counting last summer when I got 0 out of 27 in the election challenge.)
Look for the strong right to take over the Board of Supervisors and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, all run by establishment Republicans.
But their number one target is Richie.
Ritchie won't say the election was stolen.
MAGA conspiracy theorists have been following Richer since he took office in 2021, and not only did they not believe the fiction that the 2020 Maricopa County election was stolen, they were willing to take the risk. He was one of the surprisingly few Republicans in the state. Standing up and saying that will determine his political future.
The long knife came in 2022, when Lake and the remaining members of President Trump's America First candidate succeeded in handing the reins of elected office in every key state to Democrats. Mr. Richer would eventually sue Mr. Lake for defamation over Mr. Lake's claims that Mr. Lake intentionally rigged the election.
Late last week, the MAGA crowd began teasing Richer's Wednesday announcement against his Republican challenger.
The stage was set by Sen. Jake Hoffman, a fake elector who chairs the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus.
“Stephen Richer needs to be fired,” he said. Posted on Friday on X, formerly Twitter. “His politicization of the Recorder’s Office is level 10. From using the public’s tax dollars to advance last-minute campaign propaganda, to taking credit for court-forced voter roll cleanups for himself. From attempts to make…August 2024, we will fire the rich.”
And over the weekend, a series of graphics were released pointing out that the mystery candidate has already won the support of several key figures in election conspiracy circles.
“Come meet the Maricopa County candidates supported by Rep. Andy Biggs and Rep. Paul Gosar,” one graphic posted by MAGA's Melissa Hamilton says, once she was not told about election conspiracy theories. I teased him that I had never met him before…often in capital letters.
His likely challenger may be Congressman Heap.
Scuttlebutt is Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa.
If so, it makes sense. Heap didn't answer my question about why he wants the job, but he checks all the boxes for the vote-rejection crowd.
He is running on a field that includes several election deniers and is a member of Hoffman's far-right group Freedom Caucus.
He was one of 13 House Republicans who voted to support now-ousted Rep. Liz Harris, one of the state's most fervent election deniers, and was one of the state's most vocal election deniers. He was expelled in April last year for his part in a crazy plan to publicly denounce the operation. He is a co-sponsor of Hoffman's bill to divide Maricopa County in the aftermath of the 2022 election; Supported Bills This would make election administration even more difficult. It becomes easier to challenge the results.
Heap answered.lol” when a fellow MAGA supporter posted a GIF mocking Republican Supervisor Bill Gates. This comes after Gates announced that his family had been threatened for three years by mobs of anti-election protesters and that he had been diagnosed with PTSD. Heap is also a freshman lawmaker who sent an email last year to a lobbyist who wanted to meet with him to discuss deregulation. Arizona problem. Mr. Heap's response was to ask why the lobbyist's firm did not donate to the 2022 election campaign.
Kali Lake is still next.What should I do about serious defamation?
“You need to prioritize which meetings you can attend,” Heap wrote. Email obtained by The Washington PostYvonne Winget Sanchez. “May I ask, Mr. Did Consortium?” [sic] Does consulting contribute to my campaign fund? If not, why did you (or your client) choose not to? a lobbyist told 12 News. Joe Dana said he was unable to attend that meeting.
This campaign is expected to be terrible.
Yes, as far-right forces prepare to take control of Maricopa County, Mr. Heap seems like a perfectly logical choice for election director.
Don't you think things will get worse between now and the July 30th primary? Think again.
MAGA's star-studded lineup is all coming to Richer. Abe Hamade on Sunday called him “ self-centered idiot He is mentally unfit to hold elected office. ”
Instead, they appear to be using political donations to support state legislators who have prioritized access to office.
Who is the right person to fight Maricopa County's mythical corruption?
To contact Roberts, laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter). @Laurie Roberts or in the next thread laurie bertzas.
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