UPDATE (3-27-24): In an email to Headline USA, Richer said the following:
“I have no connection to any PAC that did anything opposing Kari Lake or supporting any of her opponents.
“I am a proud Republican. I support free markets, limited government, law enforcement, rule of law, family values, deregulation, and a strong America.”
The statement came after his victory in a defamation suit against Lake, which Lake declined to defend.
Headline USA stands by the facts as reported at the time from our available sources but takes no position as to Richer’s specific motives.
(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Maricopa County, Arizona’s top election official, Recorder Stephen Richer, received an influx of funds from Democrat donors to start his own political-action committee, in order to defeat Republicans who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election, American Greatness reported.
The news of it broke just as the county’s nearly weeklong ballot count ended with Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs declaring victory of GOP gubernatorial challenger Kari Lake, fueling widespread skepticism of the electoral process.
Richer is registered a Republican but has been accused of actively obstructing GOP efforts to expose the vote fraud that has run rampant there over the past two election cycles.
According to the website of the PAC, Pro Democracy Republicans of Arizona, Republicans simply lost in 2020 because of former President Donald Trump, whose coattails evidently helped bring down incumbent Sen. Martha McSally as well.
“The Arizona election wasn’t stolen,” it claims. “We Republicans simply had a presidential candidate who lost, while we had many other candidates who won. It’s time we Republicans accept and acknowledge that fact.”
The PAC purports to “support pro-democracy Arizona Republicans.”
Richer reportedly tweeted out his thanks for those who gave him money in a tweet no longer available on Twitter.
“Thanks to a few generous donors this is now launching. Join me if you care about traditional Republican ‘stuff’ (free people, free markets, rule of law), but also don’t believe in conspiracies about the 2020 election or that Jan 6 was a tourist event,” he wrote.
Richer also allegedly supported a far-left resistance group, PatriotTakes, which describes itself online as being “dedicated researchers monitoring and exposing right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy.”
In the most recent election, Maricopa County once again became ground-zero for the nationwide electoral drama, with Democrats once again benefitting from the bizarre behavior of the county’s officials.
Notably, the electronic tabulators across the county began to fail, causing insurmountable wait times, mostly in heavily Republican areas of the county.
Richer issued an apology for his failure to operate a smooth election.
“I am very sorry for any voter who has been frustrated or inconvenienced today in Maricopa County,” Richer wrote. “Every legal vote will be tabulated. I promise.”
However, the county undermined its contrition by issuing a series of sarcastic tweets that appeared to attack citizens and candidates for being concerned about the election delays and irregularities.
DISINFORMATION SUPER SPREADERS: Please read Arizona election law & the elections procedures manual before asking leading questions about how something seems suspicious. There are processes + checks and balances in place to make sure every legal vote is only counted once.
— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) November 12, 2022
