Yahoo Finance GOP Election Official In Arizona Has A Tough Question For All Republicans
GOP election official Stephen Richer said Donald Trump’s campaign is forcing Republicans to ask themselves if being a Republican means they must vote for him. (Watch the video below.)
Richer, the Maricopa County recorder in Arizona who said he faced death threats after Kari Lake falsely claimed he sabotaged her losing race for governor in 2022, spoke of the party’s dilemma on the MeidasTouch Network on Sunday. Richer made it clear he’d like a Republican president.
However, he said Trump had “had crossed too many lines” in his connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, being found guilty of sexual abuse in a civil trial, his alleged stashing of classified documents and obstruction in their retrieval, and his “continued lies” about election fraud.
“These are things that 10 years ago we would have all said those are dealbreakers,” he said. “And I think we have gotten into a sort of weird mental warp where we have apologized, excused those things. And we have elevated what we perceive to be the threats of the left to a level where it excuses some behavior on our side. But I don’t believe that is appropriate. I don’t like a lot of the stuff the left is pushing.”
Then Richer crystalized his thought-provoking question about GOP pressure to vote for Trump, no matter what.
“I want a Republican president, but if you can’t say no here, then is it just that you will never say no to the Republican nominee for president? I don’t believe that makes you an American first and that’s what I think is important.”
Richer: Jan. 6th, the documents, sexual assault, continued lies about our election system.. I want a Republican president but if you can’t say no here, is it just that you will never say no to the Republican nominee? I don’t believe that makes you an American first. pic.twitter.com/0CDsFng3lr
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 17, 2024
Richer was elected to his post in November 2020 while Trump was narrowly losing the county to eventual President Joe Biden. The two appear to be headed for a rematch in November.
Richer has “been at the center of a firestorm fueled by election deniers” since taking office, Issue One wrote.
Last month the voting honcho went viral for clapping back at one voter’s election-fraud insinuation.
