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Stephen Richer
Stephen Richer (Republican Party) was the Maricopa County Recorder in Arizona. He assumed office on January 1, 2021. He left office on January 1, 2025.
Richer (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Maricopa County Recorder in Arizona. He lost in the Republican primary on July 30, 2024.
Richer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Stephen Richer obtained a bachelor's degree from Tulane University, a master's degree from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He is an attorney.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2024)
General election
General election for Maricopa County Recorder
Justin Heap defeated Timothy Stringham in the general election for Maricopa County Recorder on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Justin Heap (R)  | 52.1 | 984,866 |
| Timothy Stringham (D) | 47.8 | 903,609 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,619 | ||
| Total votes: 1,890,094 | |||
| = 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
Timothy Stringham advanced from the Democratic primary for Maricopa County Recorder on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Timothy Stringham | 99.5 | 259,842 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 1,369 | ||
| Total votes: 261,211 | |||
| = 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
Justin Heap defeated incumbent Stephen Richer and Donald Hiatt in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Justin Heap | 43.3 | 161,946 |
 | Stephen Richer | 34.5 | 129,344 | |
 | Donald Hiatt | 21.9 | 82,160 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 929 | ||
| Total votes: 374,379 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Richer in this election.
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 | ||
| 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 |
| 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 | |
| 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. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Richer's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stephen Richer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Richer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Stephen is a lifelong conservative who has spent years working at conservative organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute and The Federalist Society. Stephen believes that free markets, individual rights, a constitutional democracy, and the rule of law are critical to societal success.
In January 2021, Stephen took office as Maricopa County Recorder after defeating the Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes (who later became Secretary of State).
After Stephen’s first year in office, The Arizona Republic named him “Arizonan of the Year” and The Phoenix New Times awarded him “Republican of the Year.” And in 2023, the Arizona Capitol Times awarded Stephen “Leader of the Year.”
Stephen is one of the hardest working elected officials in Arizona. He has repeatedly been called the “most accessible politician” and “most transparent election official.”
As a result of his commitment to conservatism and his accomplishments while in office, Stephen has won the endorsements of Arizona leaders like Governor Doug Ducey, Governor Jan Brewer, and Recorder Helen Purcell – the longest serving Recorder in Arizona’s history.
Prior to his election, Stephen worked as a businessperson and attorney.
Stephen and his wife met while students at The University of Chicago Law School. They live in South Phoenix.- Clean voter rolls. When I took office in January 2021, Maricopa County had 2.6 million active registered voters. Now, we have 2.4 million active registered voters -- a decrease of 200,000 voters despite being the fastest growing county in the United States. I've done this by making clean voter rolls my highest priority, by rebuilding the county's voter registration database, and by using every lawful voter list maintenance tool available. I will continue these efforts in my second term.
- Chris Krebs, the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under President Trump, called me “the most transparent election official in the country.” I have personally given over 100 election tours; I have hosted live-streamed “Ask Me Anything” sessions; my team and I have built a new elections website; we've conducted tele-townhalls; we've installed new high-definition video cameras for public viewing of election processes; I've written over 30 articles and reports about the election process; we've produced videos; we've expanded the deputy registrar program, and more. If you want information about my office, just ask (voterinfor@risc.maricopa.gov). We'll respond.
- I am a lifelong conservative who is committed to the cause. I have worked at great conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute and Cato Institute. I am a member of The Federalist Society. I have litigated against government regulatory overreach while at the conservative Washington Legal Foundation. And I have consistently advocated in writing and campaigns for free markets, individual liberty, and the rule of law.
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
Stephen Richer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Richer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Fair elections
- Competent elections
- Transparent elections
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 17, 2020
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