Pima County Unveils Sheriff’s Recount Results This Friday

The future of Pima County’s sheriff position will be determined in court on Friday at 10 a.m. Democratic incumbent Chris Nanos and Republican challenger Heather Lappin faced off in a tightly contested race, with Nanos winning by a mere 495 votes out of 487,225 total ballots cast.

This slender margin, approximately 0.1 percent, necessitated a recount under state law. The Pima County Board of Supervisors obtained a court order, prompting the Elections Department to retabulate all 518,595 ballots from the November 5 election. This recount was completed on November 27.

The results of this recount will be certified by Pima County Superior Judge Kyle Bryson, who expedited the process at the request of the Pima County Attorney’s Office after the recount wrapped up ahead of schedule.

Chris Nanos, who has served as sheriff since his appointment in 2015, previously lost to Republican Mark Napier in 2016 before defeating him in 2020. Nanos initially led the race by nearly 25,000 votes following the early ballot tabulation on Election Day. However, his lead dwindled as the counting progressed, at one point falling behind Lappin by 187 votes.