McComish GOP winner in District 20 by 13 votes, recount shows
The Arizona Republic. September 21, 2004

John McComish can finally exhale. McComish beat Anton Orlich by 13 votes in the District 20 Republican primary for the state House, according to a recount of the votes on Tuesday.

By Sept. 11 - four days after the primary election - a count of all ballots gave Orlich the lead by four votes, but the close margin triggered a recount. That recount began Tuesday morning in Phoenix in the operations center for the Maricopa County elections officials. The recount, finalized in the early afternoon, showed 5,633 votes for McComish and 5,620 for Orlich.

District 20 includes west Chandler, south Tempe and all of Ahwatukee Foothills. The results still must be certified by the county and then sent to a judge. advertisement

Legal challenges may follow. McComish has retained an attorney and vows to challenge the results if he loses. He lost his first bid for the state House in the Republican primary two years ago.

The two top Republican finishers will go on to face Democrat Jim Torgeson and Libertarian Joel Beckwith in the November election. Incumbent Bob Robson, R-District 20, of Chandler, who won the primary, is guaranteed to be on the November ballot.

Political newcomers Jeff Dial of Ahwatukee Foothills and Linda Wegener of Tempe finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the primary and are out of the race.

Check back later for more details.