Nancy Guthrie investigation Sheriff Chris Nanos faces recall campaign

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Mar 18, 2026

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A congressional candidate in Arizona is leading a campaign to recall Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, whose department is heading up the Nancy Guthrie investigation.

Tucson GOP hopeful Daniel Butierez is hoping to turn the city’s 7th Congressional District red after Adelita Grijalva finishes the term started by her dad prior to his death in March 2025. Butierez is also circulating a recall petition in response to Nanos’s alleged misrepresentation of his law enforcement background in a sworn deposition, according to the Arizona Republic.

Nanos’ work history, which is in question, will reportedly be reviewed Tuesday during a meeting of county officials. It’s alleged that he was untruthful about suspensions early in his career with the El Paso Police Department.

Butierez spoke about his efforts to oust Nanos in a Facebook video posed Tuesday.

“Help us get these done, get these signed, and let’s get the sheriff out of office and get someone in there that we can feel confident in,” Butierez suggests.

He urged Pima County voters to help him get on the ballot and push Nanos out of office regardless of signees’ political affiliation.

Nanos’ department has been under a microscope since Feb.1 when Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her southern Arizona home. The FBI is also participating in an ongoing search for the seemingly abducted victim. Few clues have been made public despite extensive media coverage and a $1 million reward from the Guthrie family.

Video and images retrieved from Guthrie’s doorbell camera show an armed man wearing gloves and a mask approaching her front door in the hours she’s believed to have disappeared. Savannah Guthrie conceded in a Feb. 24 Instagram video “she may already be gone.”

When asked about the accusation against him, Nanos wished an Arizona Republic reporter “good luck with your hit piece.”

He hasn’t responded to a Daily News for comment. Nanos was elected to serve a second term as sheriff in 2024.

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