Republican Jeff Dial, a former state senator, has called Democrat Sebastian Matta to concede the Maricopa County clerk of Superior Court race, both candidates tell me.
As of 5pm Wednesday evening, Matta held a 53.4% to 46.6% lead according to the Maricopa County election results website.
Matta, a 19-year-old Arizona State University student, will lead the clerk's office in the nation's fourth-largest county.
NEW: Republican Jeff Dial, a former state senator, has called Democrat Sebastian Matta to concede the Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court race, both candidates tell me. Matta, a 19-year-old ASU student, will lead the clerk's office in the nation's 4th-largest county. @abc15 https://t.co/hcUzaSZprl
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"I mean, I only got a campaign manager like three weeks ago," Matta said.
Matta graduated high school last year and studies philosophy of law, politics and morality at Arizona State. His hobbies include fencing, theater and debate.
"When I was in high school I went to four debate national tournaments," Matta said.
He pulls all-nighters like many college sophomores, though his involve visiting legislative districts and monitoring election results.
"Until 6 a.m. this morning I'd been up for 30 hours," Matta said. "I vehemently enjoy campaigning I vehemently enjoy everything I've done up to this point and I'm sure I'm vehemently going to enjoy the clerk's office."
The son of a car crash investigator, Matta says he's always been interested in politics.
"I knew a bit about the clerk's office. I would go in there as a kid with my dad's take your son to work days because his job consists of going to go file these things from his law firm," Matta said.
Dial wrote today: "To everyone who volunteered and helped out — thank you. And to everyone in Maricopa County who worked hard on Election Day to run a good election: this great state runs on people like you. I hope the Clerk's Office finds great success in the future."
Dial and others criticized Matta during the campaign for filing campaign finance reports late, though Matta maintains deadlines and filing won't be an issue when he leads an office that processes 15,000 documents and nearly half a million dollars every day.
"The reason I filed my campaign finance report late is because my accountant went dark on me, and I don't think that the accountants here are going to go dark on me. I mean, I will have a whole staff of people here who will help me get the job done," Matta said.
His priorities include expanding e-filing to probate cases and expanding foreign-language access in the court system. But first, he has to earn the trust of the people he'll be leading.
"I don't plan on instituting some of my campaign changes for a couple months, even a year in. The first long while of my tenure will be getting to be friendly with the staff, ensuring them that their jobs are safe. I understand its very scary to have a 19 year old be your boss, but I'm not just any 19 year old," Matta said.
Matta plans to move his courses online but says he is not dropping out of Arizona State. He plans to continue on and earn his degree while also serving as the clerk of court.
