Some Democrats leading, early returns show

A Democratic leader in Maricopa County says early election results show how the county is leading the way in turning Arizona blue.

Six of 10 elected county positions currently have a Democrat leading in early results for Tuesday’s election, some in roles long held by Republicans. At first, eight Democrats were leading, but the results tightened in favor of Republicans and two flipped as more results from in-person voting came in early Wednesday morning.

The county assessor, board of supervisors, recorder and treasurer were on the ballot. The county sheriff and attorney were also on the ballot.

These results include about 1.7 million ballots cast in the county. As of Wednesday morning, most early ballots and all ballots cast in person on Tuesday had been counted, except for about 10,000 provisional ballots. The county was still counting those provisional ballots, along with about 248,000 early ballots and other ballots dropped off at the polls on Tuesday.

There are about 2.6 million registered voters in the county for this election.

If results hold, the county’s board of supervisors will flip to a Democratic majority. All five county supervisors ran to keep their seat, and some of their challengers are in the lead, according to early results:

● District 1: Democrat Jevin Hodge leads Republican incumbent Jack Sellers.

● District 2: Incumbent Steve Chucri, a Republican, leads Democrat Deedra Abboud.

● District 3: Democrat Whitney Walker leads Republican incumbent Bill Gates.

● District 4: Incumbent Clint Hickman, a Republican, leads Democrat Suzanne Story.

● District 5: Democrat Steve Gallardo ran unopposed.

Also in early results:

● Appointed county assessor Eddie Cook, a Republican, leads Democrat Aaron Connor.

● Democrat Adrian Fontes, the current county recorder, leads Republican Steven Richer.

● For treasurer, Republican state lawmaker John Allen leads Democrat Daniel Toporek.

Most of the county’s elected positions are held by Republicans, and some elected positions have lacked Democratic candidates in past elections.

This year, though, as Arizona was eyed nationally as a swing state that could vote for a Democratic president for the first time since choosing Bill Clinton over Bob Dole in 1996, all of the county Republicans on the ballot faced Democratic challengers.

On seeing early results Tuesday, Maricopa County Democratic Party Chairman Steven Slugocki said the county “is going to lead the way to Arizona turning blue.”

“This is something that we could have never dreamed of, even a few years ago,” Slugocki said. “And here we are. This is an emotional night for me.”

One Republican incumbent, county assessor Eddie Cook, said he believes the county’s makeup is just changing as more people move here from other states.

Here is more about each race.

Maricopa County assessor

The Assessor’s Office determines the value of properties in Maricopa County, which dictates how much a property owner pays in taxes.

The Board of Supervisors appointed Cook to the role in February after Paul Petersen resigned after being indicted for an alleged illegal international child adoption scheme.

Both candidates said they sought to restore public trust that was lost during the Petersen scandal.

Cook is a former Gilbert council member and a technology account manager for NetApp, a technology company that provides cloud-based data services.

Aaron Connor was the first Democrat on the ballot for the role since 1992. He was a first-time political candidate who has spent his career in the mortgage and technology industries.

Maricopa County supervisors

The supervisors set the county’s budget and make decisions on issues such as the environment, land use, public health and transportation.

COVID-19 has put the office in the spotlight in recent months and brought criticism from both sides as the supervisors made decisions on the county’s mask mandate and how to spend federal coronavirus relief funds.

Challengers said the incumbents didn’t act quickly and strongly enough to try to protect public health and jobs as the virus spread across the county this summer, while incumbents said they made the best, measured decisions they could at the time.

District 1

District 1 includes the southeastern region of the county, including parts of Ahwatukee Foothills, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tempe.

Sellers has served on the board since February 2019.

Hodge, a Democrat and first-time candidate, is the national engagement director for LINK Strategic Partners. He said the county needs to invest more in local businesses and education.

Hodge said he was confident about the early results, but he wasn’t calling the race. He said it was an honor to see the votes he received.

He believes the results show that Maricopa County voters are ready for a change that improves their health, wellness, safety, security and economic future.

District 2

District 2 includes the northeastern part of the county, including parts of Apache Junction, Carefree, Cave Creek, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Reservation, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Salt River Reservation.

Chucri has been a county supervisor since 2012.

District 3

District 3 covers the north-central part of the county, including parts of Anthem, Desert Hills, New River, Phoenix and Paradise Valley.

Gates has served as since 2017.

Walker, the former director of public policy and communications for Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition, said she would focus on education, stabilizing the county’s economy, supporting small businesses and expanding access to health care.

District 4

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supervisor

District 4 covers the northwestern part of the county, including parts of Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Sun

City, Sun City West, Surprise, Wickenburg and Youngtown.

Hickman, a supervisor since 2013, said his priorities include continuing to plan for the incredible growth the county is seeing, and enticing great companies and higher-paying jobs.

Maricopa County recorder

The Recorder’s Office helps the supervisors oversee the county’s elections, along with recording, tracking and providing public access to documents such as deeds and property maps.

Fontes said Tuesday night he was happy with the initial results showing him in the lead. He said the Democraticleaning results down the ballot show county voters want a different type of governance.

“I think everyone in public office should take notice immediately,” he said.

Both Fontes and Richer have a background in law and public policy.

Fontes said he wants to continue making it easier to vote, collaborating with others to run the county’s elections and ensuring the voting process is safe.

Maricopa County treasurer

The treasurer’s office sends out property tax bills and collects and disburses the county’s tax revenue.

Allen has spent the past two decades working in politics, while Toporek is a first-time political candidate.

Allen defeated the current treasurer, Royce Flora, in the August primary. He was first elected to the state Legislature in 2002 and has spent 11 of the past 17 years in the Arizona House of Representatives, including two years as Republican majority leader.

He said before the results he would like to make the Treasurer’s Office more user-friendly and foster better crosscounty collaboration, so that issues, like the high-profile tax dispute that nearly led to a veteran losing his mobile home, are avoided from the start.