Voyles leads race; county attorney holds out hope

Republican Lando Voyles, of Maricopa, unseated Republican incumbent James P. Walsh for Pinal County Attorney, according to Pinal County’s unofficial election results.

Voyles said he was “kind of speechless” at the results, but happy. He garnered 52.8 percent of 72,770 votes cast.

“It was a win for law and order for the voters of Pinal County tonight,” Voyles said. “And I thank them.” 

Voyles, a courtroom prosecutor, ran on a platform based mainly on the aggressive prosecution of criminals and the contention that Walsh was allowing violent criminals to be released. 

Walsh repeatedly denied that claim and ran on his experience of running a large office and managing government budgets.

The race was contentious, with both campaigns lodging campaign finance reports against each other. 

“I don’t have any hard feelings,” Walsh said. “I only attacked my opponent’s record.”

Walsh declined to comment further until all of the votes were counted.

“There’s still a lot of votes out there,” Walsh said. 

Walsh earned 47.1 percent of the votes. 

To see results, click here.