Politics
Two Republicans Headed to Automatic Recount in Arizona House District 27
Incumbent GOP Reps. Lisa Fink and Tony Rivero are separated by just 313 votes, triggering an automatic recount under a 2022 state law. Democrat Deborah Howard has already secured the district's other seat, as Democrats prepare to take full control of the Legislature and governorship for the first time in 60 years.
The final partisan balance of the Arizona Legislature is set, but one state House seat remains undecided as two Republican incumbents head into an automatic recount in a northwest Maricopa County district.
Maricopa County released its final unofficial results Wednesday, showing Democrat Deborah Howard winning 37.3% of the vote in Legislative District 27, which covers parts of Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria. Howard was the only Democrat in the Nov. 3 general election for the district's two House seats.
The contest for the second seat between incumbent GOP Reps. Lisa Fink and Tony Rivero falls within the margin that requires a recount under a 2022 state law. That statute mandates a full recount of all ballots in any race decided by less than 0.5 percentage points.
Fink currently leads Rivero by 313 votes â 33,731 to 33,418 â a difference of 0.29 percentage points. Just over 107,000 ballots were cast in the LD27 race, meaning Rivero would need a significant error in the initial count to overtake Fink.
Rivero conceded the race on Nov. 6, congratulating Howard and Fink on their victories. "It has been a true honor serving LD 27 over the last two years," he wrote on social media. "A huge thank you to our volunteers and supporters for your dedication every step of the way."
Recounts rarely change the outcome of an election. The most prominent recent example in Arizona came in the 2022 attorney general race between Democrat Kris Mayes and Republican Abe Hamadeh. Hamadeh gained 231 votes in the recount, but Mayes still prevailed by 280 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots cast. Most of the discrepancy was traced to an approximately 500-vote undercount in Pinal County caused by human error, with the majority of the additional votes favoring Hamadeh.
Statewide, Democrats have secured a 30-20 supermajority in the Senate and a 37-23 advantage in the House. When the Legislature convenes in January 2027, Democrats will hold the Senate, House and governorship simultaneously for the first time in 60 years.
The recount in District 27 will determine the final House roster, though the outcome will not alter the Democratic majority. The district's voters will be represented by Howard and either Fink or Rivero when the new session begins.