Explosive court documents reveal that Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, admitted he wanted to “make life hell” for Senate candidate Kari Lake. According to a text exchange cited in the filings, Richer also described himself as staunchly “anti-MAGA.”
In his position, Richer oversees early voting and mail-in ballots—crucial elements in the close Senate race, where Lake trails Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego by less than 33,000 votes with 84% counted, according to RedState’s live updates. The race has not yet been called.
The Daily Mail reviewed the documents, including a June 21 deposition transcript from a defamation suit Richer filed against Lake. He alleges that her election integrity claims spurred threats against him and his family. During the deposition, Richer commented on his potential future Senate bid, stating he would run “just to fly the flag for real conservatism and make life hell for Kari.”
When asked why he wanted to make life difficult for Lake, Richer replied, “I don’t remember. I don’t think she’s a real conservative.” He also strongly confirmed his opposition to the MAGA movement, saying, “And I’m not only not MAGA, but I’m anti-MAGA.”
The County Recorder’s role includes managing voter registration, and just before Election Day, the Recorder’s Office reinstated 98,000 voters with unverified citizenship due to a data issue.
Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous, has faced ongoing challenges in timely ballot counting. Following the 2022 midterms, Florida Senator Marco Rubio questioned on X why states like Arizona and Nevada take days to count ballots when Florida counted 7.5 million votes in just five hours. At the time, Lake agreed with Rubio, calling it a “great question.”
Richer is not alone among Republican officials opposing Lake. Former Arizona GOP chair Jeff DeWit resigned in January after audio surfaced of him allegedly attempting to dissuade Lake from running by suggesting she accept lucrative no-show positions instead. Lake, however, rebuffed the offer, responding, “They’re going to have to f***ing kill me to stop me.”
In the recording, Lake urged DeWit to reveal who asked him to bribe her, but he demurred, hinting at safety concerns: “Then I turn my key in my car and boom.”
Richer, who won his seat in 2020, deactivated his X account after this year’s election, citing harassment. “I’ve been a human punching bag for simply stating facts that the election wasn’t stolen,” he told the Arizona Republic. Ironically, the official who vowed to “make life hell” for Lake could not handle the online backlash.
Richer lost his recent primary to GOP challenger Justin Heap, who was endorsed by the Freedom Caucus and other conservative groups. His term will end on January 1, 2025.
