Fontes Concedes Maricopa County Recorder Race: Election Results

PHOENIX — Adrian Fontes has conceded the Maricopa County Recorder race to Republican challenger Stephen Richer, he announced on Twitter.

With just over 6,000 votes to count in the state's largest county, Fontes said he called Richer to congratulate him on his win Thursday morning. As of Thursday at 1 p.m., Fontes had earned 938,800 votes to Richer's 943,452 votes. Fontes had been leading the race until Saturday.

"I've called Richer to congratulate him, and will be welcoming Maricopa's 30th recorder with a personal tour of our facilities next week," he wrote, adding #ProtectDemocracy at the end of his statement.

Fontes, a Democrat, was elected in 2016 and headed up the county's election efforts in 2018 and 2020. The position had previously been filled by Republican Helen Purcell from 1988 to 2017. Fontes won following a controversial 2016 presidential primary election when voters waited in line for hours.

In his own Twitter statement, Richer thanked Fontes for his "kind and professional" call, and asked supporters to be kind to the outgoing official.

"I thought I lost this election on Tue. night," Richer wrote. "It was gut-wrenching and is more than enough to deal with. I'm sure Adrian is feeling something similar, so please, even if you didn't support him, be kind to [him] these next few weeks as he helps me transition."

Richer will take office on Jan. 1, 2021.