Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred has won his re-election bid
Contributed Photo: Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred, right, celebrates his re-election with his Undersheriff, Jeff McCormies.
By Jon Johnson
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
SAFFORD – The votes are in and in the only countywide contested race, Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred defeated challenger Michael Bodine to win re-election to his fifth term as Sheriff.
The vote was decided in the Primary on the Republican ballot on Tuesday as there are no Democratic challengers in the upcoming General Election. Voter turnout was 35.5 percent, with 55.6 percent Republican, 32 percent Democrat, 20 percent Green, and 14.5 percent Libertarian.
”I am grateful to the citizens of Graham County,” Sheriff Allred said. “I’m grateful for their confidence in our Sheriff’s. Office. They are a great crew. We live in a great community, and I appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve as your sheriff.”
Graham County’s 23 precincts showed Allred with more than 79 percent of the vote. Out of 5,489 total Republican votes cast shown in the second upload, 4,340 voted for Allred, and 1,146 voted for Bodine.
All races remain unofficial until canvassed by the Graham County Board of Supervisors.
In local municipality races:
Safford
Safford had its interim Mayor Richard Ortega vie to keep the seat against former Mayor Jason Kouts’ widow, Maria Kouts.
Ortega defeated Kouts with 1,046 votes for the incumbent to 786 for Kouts. Ortega has retained the mayoral seat.
Safford also had three available council seats, with incumbents Brad Hemphill and appointee Dusti Brantner seeking election as well as newcomers Brenda Chacon, Luke Chavez, Alma Flores, and Corina Pino-Reyes.
Hemphill and Brantner were both elected to their seats, with 1,064 votes for Hemphill and 945 for Brantner. Alma Flores finished in third but fell short of the necessary threshold with 717 votes. Since there were three seats available and 4,484 total votes cast, the threshold number needed is 748. The threshold is calculated by taking one-third of the total votes, dividing that number in half, and adding one.
The candidate in the fourth position, Luke Chavez with 599 votes, will now face Flores in the General Election for the final seat. Corina Pino-Reyes (580 votes), and Brenda Chacon (575 votes), are on the outside.
Thatcher
Thatcher Mayor Randy Bryce ran for re-election to the Thatcher Town Council, as well as incumbents Eddy Carlton and Mark Vining. They vied for four open seats against former town council member Ryan Rapier, former Thatcher Police Chief Shaffen Woods, and newcomers Bryce Carter and Brandon Homer.
Mark Vining led the way with 795 votes, followed by Shaffen Woods with 788, Randy Bryce with 757, and Bryce Carter with 696. Those who fell short included Ryan Rapier (456), Brandon Homer (365), and Eddy Carlton (348).
Pima
Three seats were available on the Pima Town Council, with incumbents Lucas Hoopes and Sherrill Teeter hoping to be re-elected and newcomers Cade Bryce and Georgia Luster looking to break onto the board.
Lucas Hoopes led the way with 500 votes, followed closely by newcomers Cade Bryce with 499 votes, and Georgia Luster with 387. Vice-Mayor Sherrill Teeter failed to retain her seat, finishing with 292 votes.
State and National
Kari Lake has appeared to defeat Mark Lamb for the Republican nomination for Senate. Graham County voted for Lamb, 53 percent to 43.66 percent for Lake.
Juan Ciscomani easily won his primary race to retain the nomination for his House of Representative seat for District 6.
