Nanos Takes Lead in Pima County Sheriff Race with a Narrow 256-Vote Margin After Latest Update

Democratic incumbent Sheriff Chris Nanos has expanded his narrow lead over challenger Heather Lappin to 256 votes, according to Friday’s updated vote count. Pima County is nearing the completion of ballot tallies from last week’s election, which will trigger an automatic recount.

Initially, Lappin, a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Department and Nanos’ former suspended employee, trailed by only 187 votes after Thursday’s tally. On Election Day, Nanos had a robust lead of approximately 25,000 votes based on early ballots. However, this margin reduced significantly as additional ballots were counted. By Friday, Nanos had received 242,152 votes compared to Lappin’s 241,896.

The fluctuation in vote counts throughout the week saw Lappin reduce Nanos’s lead from 9,213 votes to just 199 by Wednesday evening. There’s also a write-in candidate, Trista Di Genova, attracting 114 votes, potentially influencing the final outcome.

Pima County officials have reported 4,448 ballots yet to be counted, following a review of early and provisional ballots. They processed 1,423 ballots on Friday and expect to complete counting this weekend. Given the slim margin between Nanos and Lappin, an automatic recount is mandated as it falls below the threshold of one-half of one percent of the total votes cast.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to canvas the election on Thursday, with plans to certify the results and initiate the recount process. The race has been contentious, particularly regarding the administration of the Pima County Jail, which has faced scrutiny due to a high number of inmate deaths.

Nanos, who is pursuing his second full term, suspended Lappin late in the campaign, claiming she “colluded” with a journalist to pay a jail inmate for a story. In response, ethical discussions surrounding the journalist’s reimbursement for phone calls emerged, with some experts asserting that such payments do not breach ethical guidelines.

This week, the Pima County Board of Supervisors debated reprimanding Nanos but ultimately chose to seek an investigation into his actions by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office or another appropriate agency, based on legal advice. Tensions flared during the meeting, with Supervisor Matt Heinz condemning Nanos’s decision as “unconscionable” and suggesting he abused his authority. Nanos, absent from the meeting, countered that administrative leave with pay is a standard practice to minimize workplace disruption amid investigations.

Nanos defended his actions, insisting that the leave imposed no penalties or campaign restrictions on Lappin and asserting that the Board seems unaware of its own policies.