Adrian Fontes

Adrian Fontes

Democratic Party

Candidate, Arizona Secretary of State

Arizona Secretary of State

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor: Katie Hobbs (D)

Prior offices:

Maricopa County Recorder

Years in office: 2017 - 2021

Successor: Stephen Richer (R)

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$70,000

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Next election

August 4, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Arizona State University, 1998

Law

University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, 2000

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1992 - 1996

Personal

Birthplace

Nogales, AZ

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official X

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal YouTube

Personal LinkedIn

Adrian Fontes (Democratic Party) is the Arizona Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 2, 2023. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Fontes (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for Arizona Secretary of State. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Adrian Fontes was born in Nogales, Arizona, and lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Fontes served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996. He received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in communication from Arizona State University in 1998 and a J.D. from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver in 2000. His career experience includes working as an attorney in the Denver district attorney's office, the Maricopa County attorney’s office, and the Arizona attorney general’s office, where he was an assistant attorney general. Fontes also worked as a certified election and registration administrator.

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Fontes' political career includes the following offices:

• 2023-present: Arizona Secretary of State
• 2017-2021: Maricopa County Recorder

Elections

2026

See also: Arizona Secretary of State election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Incumbent Adrian Fontes is running in the Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Adrian Fontes

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Alexander Kolodin is running in the Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Alexander Kolodin

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Arizona Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeated Mark Finchem in the general election for Arizona Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adrian Fontes (D)	52.4	1,320,619
		Mark Finchem (R)	47.6	1,200,411

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,521,030
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Peter Yeaple (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeated Reginald Bolding in the Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adrian Fontes	52.5	302,681
		Reginald Bolding	47.5	273,815

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 576,496
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dennis Florian (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Mark Finchem defeated Beau Lane, Shawnna Bolick, and Michelle Ugenti-Rita in the Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Finchem	42.6	329,884
		Beau Lane	23.4	181,058
		Shawnna Bolick	19.3	149,779
		Michelle Ugenti-Rita	14.8	114,391

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 775,112
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Wade Wilson (R)
• Remo Paul (R)

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2020)

General election

General election for Maricopa County Recorder

Stephen Richer defeated incumbent Adrian Fontes in the general election for Maricopa County Recorder on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephen Richer (R)	50.1	944,953
		Adrian Fontes (D)	49.8	940,354
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,570

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,886,877
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maricopa County Recorder

Incumbent Adrian Fontes advanced from the Democratic primary for Maricopa County Recorder on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adrian Fontes	100.0	359,527

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 359,527
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder

Stephen Richer defeated Clair Van Steenwyk in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephen Richer	57.6	208,772
		Clair Van Steenwyk	42.4	153,907

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 362,679
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2016)

Maricopa County held elections for the county board of supervisors, county assessor, county attorney, county recorder, sheriff, county treasurer, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on August 30, 2016. The filing deadline for those wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2016. Adrian Fontes defeated incumbent Helen Purcell in the Maricopa County recorder general election.

Maricopa County Recorder, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Adrian Fontes	50.53%	704,916
	Republican	Helen Purcell Incumbent	49.47%	690,088
Total Votes				1,395,004
Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "2016 General Election Final Results," accessed November 28, 2016

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Adrian Fontes has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Adrian Fontes asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Adrian Fontes, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 24,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Adrian Fontes to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@electfontes.com.

2022

Adrian Fontes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fontes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As a former Marine, father of three daughters, an attorney, and an elections administrator – Adrian has spent his whole career fighting for justice and democracy. Inspired by his grandfather’s service in WWII and as Mayor of Nogales, AZ, Adrian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Serving his country taught him the importance of dedication, discipline, and sacrifice to fight for the American dream. After being Honorably Discharged, Adrian received his Bachelor’s degree from ASU before continuing to the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. In 2016, Adrian became the first Democrat elected to the Recorder’s office in 50 years and the first-ever Latino to hold an office in Arizona’s largest county. Once elected, Adrian revolutionized Arizona’s elections by registering half a million new voters, providing direct outreach to traditionally underserved communities, and making voting free, fair, and accessible to all. From day one, he got to work professionalizing the operation and implementing a comprehensive plan in advance of Election Day: securing polling locations, recruiting and training poll workers, and educating voters on where, when, and how to vote.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Protect Democracy
• Administer Fair and Competent Elections
• Make Voting More Accessible for All Eligible Arizona Voters

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Adrian has spent his whole career fighting for justice and democracy. As former Maricopa County Recorder, Adrian is most passionate about making voting easier and more accessible for all eligible Arizona voters. At a time when anti-democratic forces are undermining the right to vote, fueling conspiracy theories, and undermining the public’s faith in our electoral process, administering elections fairly and competently at the state and local level is more critical than ever. As a United States Marine Corps veteran, Adrian is also passionate about ensuring that these democratic principles are protected for veterans and service members who have sacrificed so much to fight for the American dream of democracy. As the father of three daughters, Adrian’s passion for women’s rights issues and protections plays a large role in his life as well.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Adrian Fontes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Adrian Fontes campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Arizona Secretary of State	Won general	$3,841,200	$3,784,408
Grand total			$3,841,200	$3,784,408
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Katie Hobbs (D)	Arizona Secretary of State 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Maricopa County Recorder 2017-2021	Succeeded by Stephen Richer (R)

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