Mark Finchem eyes a run for Maricopa County recorder. Democrats cheer
Just when you think it’s darkest (2022) before the dawn (2024) for the Arizona Republican Party, along comes Mark Finchem, apparently eyeing a run for Maricopa County recorder.
No, seriously.
Finchem — the stop-the-stealer who decried the evils of early voting (never mind that he voted early for years) and sued over last year’s “stolen” election for secretary of state (never mind that he lost in a landslide) — is toying with the idea of running for the county’s top elections job.
Turns out this Oro Valley champion of “election integrity” moved to the Valley at least six months ago. Yet until recently, he remained a precinct committeeman in Pima County.
Now, he’s contemplating a run to “clean up” Maricopa County’s voter rolls. To purge outdated records and ferret out fraud, don't you know.
Oh, the irony.
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Finchem has been one of the state’s loudest and longest leaders in Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal brigade, hoping to howl his way into the Secretary of State’s Office last year so he could oversee elections in one of the country’s key swing states.
In response, Arizona voters elected Democrat Adrian Fontes. In a rout.
Having chalked up his loss to fraud (naturally) and fallen short in his inevitable lawsuit challenging the results (the judge called it “groundless”), Finchem now appears to be setting his sights on Maricopa County’s top elections post.
He recently requested a packet for the recorder’s race, raising eyebrows given his longtime residence in Pima County.
But reporter Dillon Rosenblatt, who chases public records and writes about them in his Fourth Estate 48 newsletter, reports that Finchem has lived in a central Phoenix condo since at least January.
He registered to vote at that address on Jan. 20.
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Yet I note that he didn’t resign as a Republican precinct committeeman in Pima County until last week, nearly six months after moving to Maricopa County.
I’d cry “Fraud!” but really, sometimes life intervenes and there’s no actual master plot to game the system.
The more interesting question is whether Finchem will try to knock off Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, one of the hard right’s favorite whipping boys.
Finchem didn’t respond to questions about his intentions, but his potential entry into the race should have Democrats high fiving and Republicans moaning.
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It’s doubtful a Democrat could defeat Richer, a conservative Republican who is well regarded among those who deal in facts and evidence.
But Finchem? They’d relish a run against an election denier who sees conspiracies behind every cactus and enemies all around, even within his own party.
Maybe Richer should run as an indepedent
The problem for Republicans is the same as it ever was ... in 2018, in 2020, in 2022.
Simply put, the hard right candidates they nominate can’t win county or statewide elections. It’s why Democrats now hold both Senate seats and key statewide posts.
Richer would be hard to beat in November, but first he’d have to survive the Republican primary in August.
You’ll likely see this same scenario play out in other county races next year as Team MAGA takes aim at Republican incumbents — the ones who actually can win races.
The solution, for Richer and perhaps others, seems clear.
Forget Finchem and the mule he rode in on.
Run as an independent.
Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mark Finchem could run again? Talk about a gift for Democrats
