Adrian Fontes claims victory in Arizona secretary of state race; Finchem sows doubts

Adrian Fontes announced his victory in Arizona’s secretary of state race Monday, acknowledging his bipartisan support and pledging to begin “the healing process” over election fraud and lies.

“I am comfortable to say that we have won,” Fontes told a crowd of supporters at American Legion Post 41 in south Phoenix, where he launched his Democratic campaign.

“As secretary of state I represent all Arizonans, regardless of whether or not you voted for me,” he said. “It is time to end the divisiveness. It is time to end the partisanship, particularly when it comes to election administration. It is time to end the lies."

Fontes was leading Republican candidate Mark Finchem by 122,000 votes Monday with about 158,000 statewide total votes left to count. Both the Associated Press and The New York Times on Nov. 12 projected Fontes as the winner.

Finchem was endorsed by former president Donald Trump and built his campaign around unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in Arizona.

He did not immediately respond to an interview request on Monday. Finchem, however, continued raising doubts about the state’s election results in a flurry of social media posts.

“We are not conceding and are fighting,” he tweeted shortly after Fontes made his announcement.

“Something is terribly wrong in Arizona," he said in another post.

Fontes, who previously served as Maricopa County recorder, is the first Hispanic secretary of state and the first Hispanic executive officer in Arizona’s statehouse in 48 years. He said election denialism has a “dark and rank” history.

Longtime GOP political consultant Chuck Coughlin of HighGround in Phoenix applauded Fontes' win Monday.

"I'm super happy," he said. "It makes me feel better about democracy."

Coughlin, who has distanced himself from Trump Republicans said the country needs to shake the influence of election deniers such as Finchem.

"Trump lost in 2018, 2020 and in 2022. That's what you call a loser," he said.

Neil Giuliano, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Leadership business group, said the secretary of state plays a critical role in the economic expansion of Arizona. Every business license issued in the state is processed by the office.

He predicted chaos if Finchem had been elected.

"We'd have the highest level of dysfunction you've ever seen," said Giuliano, also a former Tempe mayor and councilmember. "I clearly believe we should make lying wrong again."

Fontes said his office will work for the best interests of all voters.

“The America of tomorrow is an America where being an American is more important than your political party," he said.

Fontes joined a panel of current, former and incoming secretaries of state on Monday who warned that election denialism still poses a threat to democracy.

The virtual panel, hosted by the nonprofit election protection group, States United, included Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who famously resisted Trump's call to find votes that would give him Georgia in the 2020 election.

He said the way to combat election fraud claims is through transparency and honesty.

"We will continue to fight hard," said Raffensperger, who was reelected on Nov. 8.

Fontes noted on the call that only 32% of Arizona voters are registered Democrats. He said he wouldn't have won without support from Republicans and from independents.

He said secretaries of state need to protect election workers from threats and advocate for new laws with harsher penalties.

"Hopefully we are done with this one chapter in American history," he said.

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8694. Follow him on Twitter @robertanglen.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fontes claims win in AZ secretary of state race; Finchem raises doubts