Election Results in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District: Americans Elect Party Candidate Richard Grayson Finishes Fourth with 0.98% of the Vote

We finished last in our race to be the congressman in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District as the candidate of the Americans Elect party, one of Arizona's five recognized political parties entitled to ballot access.

At last count, we had almost 2,400 votes, giving us 0.98% of the vote.

Here is the story as reported by Phoenix TV station KPHO (CBS5):

Rep. Paul Gosar wins Arizona's 4th Congressional District
By Phil Benson

PHOENIX (CBS5) -

Incumbent Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Prescott has won the U.S. House seat in Arizona's 4th Congressional District. 

While the 4th District seat technically had no incumbent, Gosar switched to run in Arizona's 4th District rather than the neighboring 1st District to improve the odds of capturing a second term in Congress. It worked. The 4th District has a large number of conservative voters. Gosar said he sought re-election "because we need to get back to the basics of a limited government, the Rule of Law and a government that encourages job creation, not stifles it with red tape."

He said on his campaign website he is against amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports Arizona's law cracking down on illegal immigrants. Gosar said a second term would allow him to work harder to trim bureaucracy so that small businesses can grow, and he said he wants to slash taxes.

Democratic political newcomer Johnnie Robinson of Florence faced an uphill battle against Gosar.  Robinson said on his campaign website that he supported an education system with standardized curriculum and programs that address learning curves in local school districts. Robinson also wanted to ensure that members of the military can access medical, housing and financial services as well as obtain good jobs.

Other candidates in the race included Libertarian candidate Joe Pamelia, a businessman, aeronautical engineer and Vietnam War veteran, and Americans Elect candidate Richard Grayson, a humorist, author and gay rights activist.

District 4 encompasses seven counties and includes most of western Arizona, most of Yavapai County and northern Pinal County. It covers Prescott, part of Yuma and Florence.

Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier features Q & A with Richard Grayson and other candidates in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District

Today the Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier features a Q & A session that staff writer Joanna Dodder Nellens had with the four candidates for Congress in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District, including Americans Elect Party candidate Richard Grayson.

Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier profiles Richard Grayson and other candidates in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District

In the Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier today, staff writer Joanna Dodder Nellans profiles the four candidates for Congress in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District, including Americans Elect Party candidate Richard Grayson.

Richard Grayson Wins Nomination of Americans Elect Party in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District Primary

This afternoon the office of the Arizona Secretary of State released its official canvass of the August 28 primary. It shows that we won the Americans Elect Party primary in Arizona's Fourth Congressional District and says we have been nominated by that party to be its candidate on the November ballot.

We received 11 write-in votes. Sincere thanks to the four voters in Mohave County, the three voters in our home county of Pinal, the two voters in Yuma County, the one voter in Yavapai County and the one voter in La Paz County for writing in our name on the primary ballot.

The other candidates running are Republican Congressman Paul Gosar; Libertarian Joe Pamelia; and the winner of the recount in the Democratic primary between Johnnie Robinson and Mikel Weisser, currently separated by just 19 votes.

In 2010 we won the Green Party primary in Arizona's Sixth Congressional District but were promptly sued by the Arizona Green Party in federal court, alleging we were a "sham" Green Party candidate. We won and were on the November ballot in 2010, getting about 1.4% of the vote in another heavily Republican district.