PHOENIX — Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes conceded the election to his Republican challenger Stephen Richer on Thursday.
The Maricopa County Elections Department reported that Richer was leading with 943,452 votes to Fontes' 938,800 with 2,077,860 total ballots cast.
In a tweet, Fontes said he called Richer to congratulate him "and will be welcoming Maricopa's 30th Recorder with a personal tour of our facilities next week."
Richer followed up in a later series of tweets and thanks Fontes for his "kind and professional phone call" and for the four years of "hard work he put in."
Fontes was elected to the recorder's office in 2016 and took office in 2017. He was elected over Republican incumbent Helen Purcell with 50.53% of the vote to Purcell's 49.47%.
Richer, according to Ballotpedia, graduated from Tulane University and got his master's degree from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He is an attorney.
The Maricopa County recorder is the top election official in Arizona's most populous county.
