Adrian Fontes | |
---|---|
![]() | |
22nd Secretary of State of Arizona | |
Assumed office January 2, 2023 | |
Governor | Katie Hobbs |
Preceded by | Katie Hobbs |
Recorder of Maricopa County | |
In office January 1,2017 –January 1,2021 | |
Preceded by | Helen Purcell |
Succeeded by | Stephen Richer |
Personal details | |
Born | April 3,1970 |
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 3 [1] |
Education | Arizona State University (BA) University of Denver (JD) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1992–1996 |
Adrian Fontes (born April 3,1970) [2] [3] is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party,he has served as the Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023, [4] after defeating Republican nominee Mark Finchem in 2022. [5] Fontes previously served as the Maricopa County Recorder from 2017 to 2021.
Fontes was raised in Nogales,Arizona. [6] [7] His family has lived in southern Arizona for more than 300 years,even before Arizona became a state. [7] Fontes served in the United States Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996,where he taught a marksmanship course. [8] [9] [10] [7] He earned his bachelor's degree in Communications from Arizona State University in 1998. [11] When he returned,he attended the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver and graduated in 2000 with a Juris Doctor degree. [8]
Fontes has served as a prosecutor with the Denver District Attorney's Office,Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Arizona Attorney General's Office, [12] and as an attorney in private practice. [13]
Fontes ran for Maricopa County Recorder against 28-year incumbent Helen Purcell. [14] Fontes announced his candidacy the day after Maricopa County's 2016 presidential preference election,which was perceived by some as having been mismanaged by Purcell due to the reduction in the number of polling places in the county,causing long lines that stretched for blocks and left some voters waiting for hours. [15] Latino community leaders raised concerns about voter suppression when areas with predominantly Latino populations had one or no polling places open during Arizona's presidential preference election. [7] On October 27,2016,the Arizona Republic newspaper endorsed Fontes. [16] On November 14,2016,Purcell conceded the race. [14] Fontes was the first Democrat to be elected Maricopa County Recorder in over 50 years. [14] [17]
In 2018,as part of an organized effort by the GOP to raise suspicions about voter fraud,the Arizona GOP commissioned attorney Stephen Richer to conduct an "independent audit," which aired baseless and unsubstantiated insinuations about Soros and Fontes. [18]
Fontes ran for re-election in 2020,losing by less than 5,000 votes to Republican candidate Stephen Richer. [6] [10] Once Stephen Richer won the 2020 election,he backpedaled and distanced himself from the Soros and Fontes voter fraud conspiracies he spread while campaigning against Fontes. [19]
As Maricopa County Recorder,Fontes piloted the use of vote centers,where any voter in the county could cast a ballot regardless of precinct. [6] [20] In the November 2018 election,Maricopa County operated 40 vote centers. [21] [22] Fontes also expanded early voting options in Maricopa County. [23]
As the County Recorder,Fontes oversaw the counting of ballots in Maricopa County's elections in 2020. [9] While the ballots were being counted in the Maricopa County Recorder's Office,protesters gathered outside over the course of several days,including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. [9] Fontes worried that there would be an invasion into the building,and met with sheriff's department and other law-enforcement agencies about establishing a secure perimeter around the building where Fontes' staff was counting ballots but was determined there was no real threat. [9] Due to the unrest Maricopa County Recorder's Office,Fontes and his family packed "go-bags" in case they needed to leave their home on short notice,found back-up housing,and his children evacuated for several days. [9] Fontes has claimed that Jake Angeli,the "QAnon Shaman," was one of the protestors at the Recorders Office. [9] After the 2020 election,Fontes joined Pima County Recorder-elect Gabriella Cázares-Kelly's transition team as an interim chief deputy recorder after losing his re-election. [23]
Fontes was a vocal critic of the Maricopa County election audit. [24] On July 28,2021,Fontes was one of several politicians,experts and election officials who spoke about voter suppression,subversion,and election worker intimidation and who testified before the United States Congress Committee on House Administration. [25] [26] Fontes testified:"I strongly support legislative efforts to protect election officials in Arizona and across the country from harassment,intimidation,threats and political interference,so that they can safely perform their duties to serve voters and protect election integrity." [25]
On July 6,2021,Fontes announced his candidacy for the 2022 Arizona Secretary of State election. [6] On August 4,2022,Fontes was declared the winner of the Democratic primary. [10] Fontes received 52.5% of the vote,while his opponent Reginald Bolding received 47.5%. [27] Fontes faced Republican party nominee,Arizona Representative Mark Finchem in the general election. [10] Finchem had contended without evidence that Maricopa County’s 2020 election was tainted by fraud,backed the state Senate’s discredited review of the election done by the state Senate and was part of a lawsuit which attempted to block the use of vote counting machines in state elections. [10] Fontes defeated Finchem in the November 8 general election. [28]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Adrian Fontes | 704,916 | 50.53% | ||
Republican | Helen Purcell (incumbent) | 690,088 | 49.47% | ||
Majority | 14,828 | 1.06% | |||
Democratic gain from Republican | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Adrian Fontes | 359,527 | 100% | |
Majority | 359,527 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Stephen Richer | 944,953 | 50.1% | +0.63% | |
Democratic | Adrian Fontes (incumbent) | 940,354 | 49.8% | −0.73% | |
Write-in | 1,570 | 0.1% | |||
Majority | 4,599 | 0.3% | |||
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Adrian Fontes | 276,436 | 52.7% | |
Democratic | Reginald Bolding | 248,271 | 47.3% | |
Majority | 524,707 | 5.4% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Adrian Fontes | 1,320,618 | 52.4% | +2.0% | |
Republican | Mark Finchem | 1,200,411 | 47.6% | −2.0% | |
Majority | 120,207 | 4.8% | +4.0% | ||
Turnout | 2,592,312 | 62.56% | −0.21% | ||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Kari Lake Halperin is an American former television news anchor. A member of the Republican Party, she is the Republican nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona. She was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.
Karen Fann is a former Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing Arizona Legislative District 1. Fann became President of the Arizona Senate in 2019, and served until 2023.
The 1916 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1916, for the post of the Governor of Arizona. Due to battles between labor and business, the Hunt administration was facing severe electoral backlash. After facing a fairly strong primary by former Council member George Olney, Hunt prevailed and went on to face the closest election in Arizona gubernatorial history. The initial results of the 1916 election were extremely close, with Campbell winning by only 30 votes.
Mark William Finchem is an American far-right politician who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11 from 2015 to 2023. He is the Arizona coordinator for the Coalition of Western States, an organization that opposes the activities of the Bureau of Land Management and supported the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.
Venden "Vince" Leach is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican, he was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 2019 to 2023, representing District 11. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11. Leach is the Republican nominee for Arizona state senate from Legislative District 17 in the 2024 Arizona Senate election.
Helen Purcell served seven terms as the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and served until 2017.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Arizona was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election, in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. Arizona voters chose 11 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump of Florida and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. The Libertarian nominees were also on the ballot.
The 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arizona, concurrently with other federal and state elections. Incumbent Republican governor Doug Ducey was term-limited and ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs narrowly defeated Republican former television journalist Kari Lake.
The 2022 Arizona Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next attorney general of Arizona concurrently with other federal and state elections. Incumbent Republican attorney general Mark Brnovich was term-limited and could not seek a third term in office. With a margin of 0.01%, Democrat Kris Mayes defeated Republican Abe Hamadeh in one of the closest elections in Arizona history, and the closest attorney general race of the 2022 election cycle. The race is also believed to be the only election directly affected by the deaths of anti-vaccine advocates from COVID-19.
In direct response to election changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 United States presidential election in Arizona, and "Sharpiegate"; the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign launched numerous lawsuits contesting the election processes of Arizona. All of these were either dismissed or dropped.
The 2022 Arizona elections were held in the state of Arizona on November 8, 2022, coinciding with the nationwide general election. All six executive offices were up for election, as well as a U.S. Senate seat, all of the state's U.S. House of Representatives seats, and the state legislature.
The 2022 Arizona Secretary of State election was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect the next Secretary of State of Arizona. Incumbent Secretary of State Katie Hobbs declined to run for a second term, to instead run for governor. Primary elections were held on August 2, 2022. Democrat and former Maricopa County recorder Adrian Fontes defeated Republican representative Mark Finchem by 4.8%.
The 2022 Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Arizona. Incumbent Democratic Superintendent Kathy Hoffman was defeated in her run for a second term by former Republican Attorney General Tom Horne. Significantly, Horne's win marked the first time in the state's history that a Republican won a statewide race without winning Maricopa County, home to 62% of the state's population and a former Republican stronghold; the only other statewide 2022 Republican candidate to win that year, Kimberly Yee, won her race by a wide margin partly by carrying Maricopa County.
The 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit, commonly referred to as the Arizona audit, was an examination of ballots cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 United States presidential election in Arizona initiated by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate and executed by private firms. Begun in April 2021, the audit stirred controversy due to extensive previous efforts by former president Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the election, and due to assertions of rule violations and irregularities in the conduct of the recount, leading to claims that the audit was essentially a disinformation campaign. In June 2021, Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and Charles Cooke of National Review reported that Trump had told associates that based on the results of the audit, he would be reinstated as president in August 2021.
The 2022 Arizona House of Representatives elections were held November 8, 2022. Voters in each of Arizona's 30 legislative districts elected two state representatives to the Arizona House of Representatives. The elections coincided with the elections for other offices, including the U.S Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and state senate. The primary elections were set for August 2022.
The 2022 Maricopa County Attorney special election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona. The election was held concurrently with other federal and state elections, as well as a special election for District 2 on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The special election was called due to the resignation of Allister Adel in March 2022.
Alexander Kolodin, or Alex Kolodin is an American lawyer, politician and Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 3 in 2022.
Austin Smith is an American politician. He has been a member of the 29th district of the Arizona House of Representatives, alongside Steve Montenegro, since 2023. In April 2024 he withdrew his bid for a second term and resigned as a senior director of Turning Point Action amid allegations he had forged voter signatures on election documents.
The Maricopa County Recorder's Office is a county office located in Maricopa County, Arizona. It has three primary statutory functions: document recordation, voter registration, and early voting.
The 2024 Maricopa County elections will be held on November 5, 2024, in Maricopa County, Arizona, with partisan primary elections for county offices being held on July 30, 2024. All five seats of the Board of Supervisors are up for election, as well as all county-wide elected officials.