Control of Congress may be decided in Arizona this November. But first, Tuesday’s election will determine the outcome of one competitive primary and set a partisan race in the Phoenix suburbs, while primaries in other safe Republican- and Democrat-leaning districts will likely signal the next politician Arizonans send to Washington in January.
Congressional District 1
Former state lawmaker Amish Shah leads a crowded field of six Democrats running for the chance to face Republican Congressman David Schweikert in the CD1 general election.
According to results available late Tuesday night, Shah led with just over 24% of the vote. Former Arizona Democratic Party Chair Andrei Cherny trails with nearly 21.5% of the vote, a gap of about 1,600 votes.
Marlene Galán-Woods was in third place with nearly 21%, followed by Conor O'Callaghan at just over 18%.
Schweikert, first elected in 2010, easily defeated his own challengers, according to a race call by the Associated Press.
Democrats have repeatedly tried — and failed — to unseat Schweikert over the last several election cycles, coming closest in 2022, when Schweikert defeated Jevin Hodge by about 3,000 votes.
This year’s Democratic primary reflected that reality.
All six candidates largely held the same policy positions, and tried to make the case they were the only one capable of defeating Schweikert.
That led to some heated moments during the campaign, including when O’Callaghan called out both Woods and Shah for their past ties to the Republican party.
“If you were part of the problem for 40 years, you are complicit and that should be disqualifying,” O’Callaghan said during a primary debate, referencing the fact that Galán-Woods was a registered Republican for most of her life.
Galán-Woods noted that any Democrat who hopes to win in the district, where Republicans hold a slight voter registration advantage, will need to build a broad coalition that includes some Republican voters. She touted a significant endorsement from Attorney General Kris Mayes, a former Republican herself.
That argument appears to have resonated with O’Callaghan, who announced the endorsement of former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger days before the election.
But it appears voter engagement rather than endorsements played well with Democratic primary voters. Shah has long touted his ground game, saying he has knocked on tens of thousands of doors throughout the district to meet with residents.
Congressional District 3
Former state Democratic Party Chair Raquel Terán trailed former Phoenix city councilmember Yassamin Ansari by around 1,400 votes as of Tuesday evening in the Democratic primary in CD3.
With 29,086 votes reported, Ansari had roughly 47% of the vote.
Political newcomer Dr. Duane Wooten trailed both with 11% of the vote.
The winner of the Democratic primary will be considered a heavy favorite in November to replace Congressman Ruben Gallego, who’s leaving the safe seat to run for U.S. Senate.
Ansari, the child of Iranian immigrants, would be the first Iranian-American woman to represent Arizona in Congress.
If Terán mounts a comeback, she’ll be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress — a fact that may have played well in the heavily Latino district.
Terán and Ansari have run fierce campaigns against one another, though generally, their views seem to line up on major issues like abortion and border security.
Terán has attacked Ansari for accepting more than a million dollars from Protect Progress — a PAC which supports Republicans and cryptocurrency. Ansari told 12News she doesn’t know what the PACs want, but later signed onto a letter with other Democrats urging the head of the Democratic National Committee to support cryptocurrency.
Ansari, who served on a Democratic-majority City Council, has touted her successes passing several measures dealing with issues like affordable housing and heat relief. And she criticized Terán, who was unable to find much legislative success at Arizona’s Capitol — though Democrats are in the minority there.
Congressional District 8
Trump-endorsed Abe Hamadeh won the Republican primary in Congressional District 8, according to an Associated Press race call on Wednesday.
Hamadeh beat out five other Republicans in the primary to replace Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, who is now seeking election to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Hamadeh had 30% of the vote and was ahead of Blake Masters, who had over 25%.
Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma was in third place with about 21% of the vote, followed by former Congressman Trent Franks at 17%. State Sen. Anthony Kern trailed both with about 5%.
Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement continues to be a golden ticket for Republican primary candidates. Trump endorsed Hamadeh for the seat back in December – though the former president appeared to hedge his bets by handing out a second endorsement to Masters over the weekend, after many early ballots were likely submitted.
Both Hamadeh and Masters are well-known figures, especially with Republican voters in the state, after they ran statewide campaigns for attorney general and U.S. Senate, respectively, in 2022.
But Hamadeh does not actually live within the west Valley district he hopes to represent – and Masters only moved into the area after he entered the race.
Despite that, he is leading several candidates with a longer track record in communities in CD 8, including Franks and Toma – the sponsor of popular Republican policies like the state’s expanded school voucher system and a border security proposal set to go before voters in November.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify that Democrats are the minority in the Arizona Legislature.
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