Days into vote tallying, Shelli Boggs takes lead in county school superintendent's race

A Friday evening results drop showed a last-minute upset in the heavily contested Republican primary for Maricopa County school superintendent.

Days after voting concluded, Shelli Boggs took the lead in the race from incumbent Steve Watson. The two have been neck-in-neck in early results since election night. About 1,660 ballots now separate them, with a few thousand ballots left to count countywide.

The position has historically been a low-profile role. But the School Superintendent's Office is quickly emerging as a new political battleground in Maricopa County, largely due to the position's influence over the makeup of school boards.

Watson, a former career and technical education teacher, has held his post since 2016. He previously told The Arizona Republic that he undertakes a thorough process for school board appointments that prioritizes community input. But Boggs — and fellow challenger Nickie Kelley, who is trailing in the race — has criticized his approach to the responsibility. Boggs said she would be more proactive in meeting with each district and involving the community in her applicant vetting process.

Both Watson and Boggs have said they don't believe their personal politics should have a place in school board appointment decisions. Kelley said she would prioritize "traditional values" in school board appointments.

Results in other races show a mixed bag for incumbents as the county draws one step closer to a November election. Incumbent Stephen Richer lost the Republican primary for Maricopa County recorder to a right-wing challenger, a result that could dramatically change election administration in the state's most populous region. Incumbent Treasurer John Allen managed to hold onto his seat by a sizeable margin.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Full, unofficial results are expected Monday. Here is where the races stand.

GOP challenger unseats recorder

Richer on Wednesday morning conceded the GOP primary for his seat to state Rep. Justin Heap, a Mesa Republican who's a member of the Arizona Legislature's far-right Freedom Caucus.

After the Associated Press early Wednesday called the race for Heap based on early, unofficial results, Richer in a lengthy post on X said: "Elections have winners and, sadly, losers. And in this one, it looks like I'm going to end up on the losing side of the column.

"But that's the name of the game. Accept it. Move on," he wrote, before congratulating Heap and pledging to use his remaining months to continue the "efficient and lawful execution of my duties."

Richer was behind Heap by a few thousand votes in the first results drop of the night, early ballots that were more likely to favor him than those cast on election day. As the night wore on, Heap’s lead widened. He declared victory by sharing a congratulatory post from the State Freedom Caucus Network on X hours after Richer posted his concession post on Wednesday.

"Rep. Heap upset a RINO incumbent who did nothing about election integrity in Arizona," the post read. "Now elections in the state's largest county will be run by a strong conservative."

Richer will become the third in a string of Maricopa County recorders who have helped administer an election that saw their loss. Richer defeated Democrat Adrian Fontes in 2020. Fontes defeated Republican Helen Purcell, who held the post for 28 years, in 2016.

The county recorder seat holds power over voter registration and early voting. Maricopa County is one of the largest voting jurisdictions in the country and a political battleground, and the GOP primary largely hinged on election integrity concerns in the wake of voting conspiracies.

Two Republicans sought to unseat Richer: Heap and Hiatt. Both voiced issues with county elections.

Heap, who previously supported legislation to remove Arizona from a multistate voter registration list maintenance effort, pledged to clean voter rolls and promised faster election results. Hiatt also committed to cleaning voter rolls and said he would publicly release election-related data, including detailed logs from machines that tally votes.

Richer, first elected in 2020, was looking for a second term. During his time in office, he touted his efforts to clean voter rolls and improve chain of custody documentation. Along the way, he established himself as a staunch defender of the county's election operations as he pushed back on voting conspiracies and misinformation.

Heap will face military veteran and attorney Tim Stringham, a Democrat, in the November election. Stringham ran unopposed and Heap's nomination gives his campaign a viability boost. Richer had seen support from across the political aisle and was widely expected to dominate if he made it to the general election.

Stringham said Wednesday morning that he saw Heap's victory coming and made a plea to Republican-leaning and moderate voters.

"If you voted for Stephen Richer, I imagine you did so because of his honesty in the face of lies over the last four years," Stringham said. "I’m asking you to continue to vote for the honest candidate. Consider voting for a Democrat this time around."

First results expected at 8 p.m. Tuesday: Arizona primary election results

Incumbent school superintendent challenged from both sides

Early results showed Watson leading in the Republican primary, but Boggs took the lead on Friday evening.

Superintendents are tasked with appointing new members to school board vacancies. In Maricopa County, the school superintendent has historically operated an accommodation school district made up of alternative schools for students facing specific educational challenges and barriers.

They also perform a variety of administrative functions, from supporting a variety of school-related elections to offering financial assistance to districts and maintaining homeschool and private school records.

While in office, Watson has prioritized supporting teachers to create better classroom experiences for students. He said he and his staff have helped school districts navigate funding challenges and other issues. He also criticized county supervisors, who he said aren't adequately funding his office.

But his two primary opponents disagree. Boggs, a member of the East Valley Institute of Technology Governing Board, and Kelley, a math teacher at Tolleson High School with a background in politics, strongly criticized Watson's leadership. Both pledged to stabilize the office after an independent audit commissioned by county supervisors found more than a dozen financial practice deficiencies at the accommodation district.

Whoever wins will face Democrat Laura Metcalfe in November. She ran unopposed in the primary. Like Boggs, she currently serves on the East Valley Institute of Technology Governing Board. She has also been critical of Watson and his financial stewardship of the office.

Incumbent and freshman politician face off in treasurer's race

Just two Republicans are running for county treasurer, meaning whoever wins the primary is likely to take the seat outright. Initial results show Allen leading.

The little-known position is vitally important to county operations. The treasurer acts as the county tax collector and safeguards the county's money. They are responsible for disbursing money from the county treasury and pursuing those who have not paid their county taxes.

They receive all county revenues, manage credit accounts and invest county funds with guidance from county supervisors. They also serve as treasurer for all schools and special districts within the region and store ballots for a set period of time following elections.

Allen, elected in 2020, is hoping to hang onto the office. He previously served as a state lawmaker and majority leader of the Arizona House of Representatives. But he must contend with Lichtsinn, a certified public accountant and a U.S. Navy veteran making his first foray into politics.

Allen said he's made big customer service changes to the office in recent years, including digitizing about 350,000 records. He has promised to continue updating software in the coming years to further improve efficiency. He also touted improvements to the county's investment portfolio and has said he hopes to explore the corporate bond market to improve yields if elected for a second term.

But Lichtsinn said service is still lacking, and has pledged to reduce wait times. He hopes to lobby the Arizona Legislature to allow investments that he said would improve portfolio performance.

The two also differ in their approach to safeguarding ballots after elections. Allen said he has upgraded security for the ballot vault, adding cameras, an alarm system and written logs to track who enters and exits the room. Lichtsinn told The Arizona Republic that recent elections "have been a betrayal of the American people's trust in our voting process," and promises "transparency and accountability" in storing ballots.

Assessor candidates cruise toward November

The county assessor's race stayed relatively calm during the primary.

Incumbent Republican Eddie Cook and Democrat Gregory Freeman both ran unopposed on July 30. They will ultimately face off in November.

Cook, who was appointed in 2020, is aiming to keep his seat. Before taking office, he served on the Gilbert Town Council. He also sat on the Arizona State Information Technology Authorization Committee, which reviews some of the state’s largest IT projects, and led a technology company that provides cloud-based data services to other businesses.

Freeman is a commercial property manager at MPB Realty and touts a decade of experience in the real estate industry. He has worked as an escrow officer, notary, residential leasing agent and construction manager.

Reporter Richard Ruelas contributed to this story.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps. Sign up for her weekly election newsletter, Republic Recount.

Reach reporter Fernando Cervantes Jr. at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: School superintendent's race sees last-minute upset days into tallying