Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is making headlines once again, and it’s not looking good for him. According to excerpts from a bombshell deposition transcript, Richer admitted to contemplating a run for Senate with a very specific goal: to “make life hell for Kari Lake.” The deposition, part of his ongoing defamation lawsuit against Lake and her husband, reveals a deep-seated animosity towards MAGA Republicans and raises serious questions about Richer’s ability to oversee fair elections in Arizona.
Let’s rewind a bit. Richer, who oversaw the chaotic 2022 election in Maricopa County, became a controversial figure when 60% of voting machines malfunctioned on election day. Many Republicans felt disenfranchised as tabulating machine failures created chaos and delays, affecting predominantly GOP-leaning precincts. This debacle, coupled with questionable mail-in ballot practices lacking proper signature verification, led to accusations that the election was rigged against Lake. Unsurprisingly, Lake did not stay quiet, and her public criticism of Richer led him to file a defamation lawsuit against her, escalating the already bitter feud.
But the new deposition transcript paints an even more troubling picture of Richer’s bias. In text messages included in the excerpts, Richer expressed his desire to run for U.S. Senate, not to serve Arizonans, but seemingly to spite Kari Lake. “I want to run for U.S. Sen, just to fly the flag for real conservatism and make life hell for Kari,” he wrote in one message. For someone tasked with overseeing elections, this kind of open hostility towards a candidate is beyond inappropriate—it’s disqualifying.
Richer didn’t stop there. He also texted another individual, boasting about his anti-MAGA stance, declaring himself “not only not MAGA” but actively “Anti-MAGA.” This is the same guy who founded the Pro-Democracy Republicans PAC, a dark money operation aimed at defeating MAGA-aligned candidates. He’s admitted to voting for Democrats in 2022 and has publicly stated his intention to support Joe Biden in 2024. So much for nonpartisan election oversight.
Kari Lake, who’s currently in a tight Senate race, has every reason to be concerned. The vote counting in Maricopa County has slowed to a crawl, with hundreds of thousands of ballots still uncounted. As Lake gains ground, Richer has mysteriously deleted his Twitter/X account, where he had been providing regular updates on the election process. Coincidence? Doubtful.
The timing couldn’t be more suspicious, especially as the full deposition transcript is expected to be made public as part of a Motion for Sanctions filed by Lake’s husband, Jeffrey Halperin. The motion will reportedly seek to dismiss Richer’s defamation lawsuit entirely, citing his failure to follow court orders and his concealment of critical evidence.
Richer’s own words in the deposition are damning. He admitted that despite his public claims that Lake lost the governor’s race fair and square, he actually views her as a formidable political force. “She is a political behemoth,” he conceded, adding that he believes “people would vote for her.”
With these revelations, how can anyone expect Richer to run a fair and unbiased election? His blatant anti-MAGA bias, combined with his admitted vendetta against Kari Lake, casts a dark shadow over the integrity of the electoral process in Maricopa County. As the slow-walked vote count continues and the pressure mounts, it’s clear that this scandal is far from over. Arizona voters deserve transparency and fairness, not political gamesmanship and vendettas from those in charge of safeguarding their democracy.
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