Every two years, Democrats dream of picking up enough seats in the Arizona Legislature to tie or take control of at least one chamber.
Tuesday’s primaries will solidify some races that will decide that fate in November.
In other legislative races, the winner of the primary will face a nominal challenge — or no resistance — in their safe Republican- or Democratic-leaning district.
Legislative District 1
Incumbent Sen. Ken Bennett (R-Prescott ) has lost to“MAGA” challenger Mark Finchem in Legislative District 1, according to an Associated Press race call.
The heavily conservative district, which includes Prescott, is not considered competitive, meaning the winner of the Senate GOP primary is expected to take the seat in November.
Bennett is a former Senate President and the former Secretary of State. He drew Finchem’s ire for bucking the GOP party and voting against some Republicans-supported bills in the most recent legislative session.
Finchem is endorsed by former President Donald Trump and claims that his 2022 loss in the Secretary of State race was due to fraud.
He also benefited from a financial advantage, having reported $343,624 in campaign dollars before the primary.
Finchem has also repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Trump’s 2020 election loss was the result of fraud.
A third GOP candidate, Steve Zipperman trailed behind Finchem and Bennett with just 18% of the vote.
Legislative District 2
Incumbent Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) led challenger Josh Barnett by 1,446 votes in the Senate GOP primary in Legislative District 2 as of 11:45 pm on Tuesday.
The winner will go on to face Democratic Rep. Judy Schwiebert (D-Phoenix) in a closely watched race in November. The district encompasses North Phoenix and is one of the most competitive legislative districts in the state – both Republicans and Democrats have found success there in recent elections.
Bolick is the Senate incumbent. She won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 2018 and 2020, but ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 2022. She was then appointed to the Senate in 2023 to replace former Sen. Steve Kaiser, who resigned.
Barnett and Bolick were among three names that Republican precinct committeemen voted on to replace Kaiser. At the time of the selection, Barnett did not pledge to let the chosen nominee run unopposed in this primary.
Barnett has described himself as a “MAGA” Republican, and criticized other Republicans who are not part of the MAGA movement.
Bolick was under fire this session for voting with Democrats and only a handful of Republicans to repeal an 1864 near-total abortion ban. Republicans criticized her as being pro-abortion and claimed she betrayed her constituents.
Bolick also took heat from Democrats for refusing to recuse herself while voting to put a measure on the ballot that would allow lifetime appointments for judges. Bolick’s husband is Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick.
She was the deciding vote on the judicial retention measure, which passed on party lines.
Barnett has claimed that Arizona’s elections are not safe and secure. Bolick has skirted around some claims of election fraud, but hasn’t dismissed them all.
“I don't know if there was rampant fraud,” Bolick said in a debate in 2022. “I know there are processes that are rigged.”
In the 2020 session, Bolick sponsored a bill that would have given state lawmakers the power to reject the voters’ pick in presidential elections.
Legislative District 5
Incumbent state Rep. Sarah Liguori held a slim lead over challengers in the Legislative District 5 Democratic primary with 42% of the vote as of 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, but fellow incumbent Rep. Charles Lucking fell behind.
The pair of Phoenix lawmakers were both appointed to their seats in the last legislative session to replace outgoing lawmakers.
Liguori was followed in the polls by Aaron Márquez. Dorri Thyden took fourth place with 32,279 votes reported.
The winners of the primary are expected to win the district’s two House seats in November. The Phoenix district is heavily Democratic and not considered competitive.
Sen. Lela Alston (D-Phoenix) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for her Senate seat.
Liguori has served in the House of Representatives before in 2021 and 2022. But she lost her 2022 reelection bid to former Reps. Amish Shah and Jennifer Longdon.
Liguori was later appointed to replace Longdon, who resigned in January.
Lucking was a newcomer when the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed him last session.
He works for a nonprofit called Community Legal Services which focuses on housing. That’s one of Lucking’s priorities as a lawmaker as well.
Lucking did raise eyebrows by putting out campaign ads asking constituents to “re-elect him,” though he’s never been elected, only appointed.
Marquez runs a nonprofit and was elected to the Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board in 2020. This is not his first run for higher office. He ran for a spot in the state legislature in 2014 and again in 2022; both times without success.
Thyden has worked on political campaigns but this is her first attempt at getting a political position of her own.
Legislative District 7
Early returns show embattled Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) holding an eight point lead over Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) in the Republican state Senate primary in Legislative District 7, a mostly rural district covering parts of Coconino, Gila, Navajo and Pinal counties.
As of Tuesday night, Rogers has 53% of the vote to Cook’s 47%, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Rogers, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2020 following several unsuccessful Congressional runs, became a prominent voice in far-right circles after she repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Cook, a Globe rancher who was first elected to the Arizona House in 2016, made headlines this year for sponsoring what he dubbed “Taylor Swift” bills, two pieces of legislation signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs targeting bots and scalpers he blamed for inflating the cost of popular concert tickets.
Unlike Rogers, he said he does not believe any election in 2020 or 2022 was stolen from Republican candidates.
Rogers’ support for election fraud conspiracy theories led to an influx of campaign contributions from across the county, making Rogers one of the most prolific legislative campaign fundraisers in Arizona history. Rogers raised $637,000 this campaign cycle so far and outspent Cook $901,000 to $190,000 as of July 13.
Rogers faced criticism in the months leading up to the election for continuing to support Steve Slaton, a Republican running for the House of Representatives in LD 7, despite evidence that he embellished his military record.
And there was renewed scrutiny over whether she actually lives in the legislative district following reports that she listed a Tempe address on campaign finance documents for reimbursements she received for mileage and lodging.
Haley Creighton is leading Roberto Apodaca Reveles in the Democratic Senate primary in LD 7. However, the winner of the GOP primary is all but guaranteed to win the seat, because Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district two to one.
Also in LD7, former lawmaker Walter Blackman and Rep. David Marshall were leading Tuesday night in the crowded GOP primary for the district’s two seats in the Arizona House of Representatives. Slaton was in fourth place at that time.
Legislative District 14
Incumbent Rep. Laurin Hendrix (R-Gilbert) and Gilbert resident Khyl Powell were leading in the crowded GOP Arizona House primary in Legislative 14 in the East Valley on Tuesday night.
Hendrix and Powell are among five Republican candidates vying for the district’s two House seats.
On Tuesday night, Hendrix led all candidates with 27% to Powell’s 24%. Andrew Jackson was in third place with 21%.
GOP infighting in the district recently made headlines after a scuffle broke out at a local party meeting earlier this month when Hendrix made statements insinuating candidate Lalani Hunsaker’s son was involved with the Gilbert Goons.
Hunsaker’s husband and brother law attempted to confront Hendrix and were asked to leave the meeting, later engaging in a shouting match outside of the meeting with a local party official, who accused Humsaker’s husband of headbutting him during the dispute.
Hunsaker’s husband Nathan Hunsaker faces misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct and trespassing charges stemming from the incident.
Hunsaker was in fourth place on Tuesday night with 18% of the vote.
The candidates who win the party’s nomination are likely to win the heavily-Republican district’s two House seats in November. No Democrat is currently on the ballot in the district, though Kristin Clark is running as a write-in candidate in the primary.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) is running unopposed in LD 14’s Republican Senate primary.
Legislative District 17
Former Sen. Vince Leach pulled slightly ahead of incumbent Sen. Justine Wadsack (R-Marana) in a rematch of Wadsack’s 2022 upset victory in the Legislative District 17 GOP primary.
With more than 28,000 votes reported, Leach led Wadsack by just 557 votes as of 11:45 pm on Tuesday.
Leach has run an aggressive campaign against Wadsack in his bid to win back the Senate seat. He’s also outspent her by roughly $40,000, although outside groups have spent more on Wadsack’s behalf than Leach’s, according to campaign finance reports.
Wadsack made headlines — arguably for the wrong reasons — as a freshman lawmaker, sponsoring bills to ban books and criminalize drag shows for minors.
But she has the backing of the far-right legislative Freedom Caucus, who criticize Leach as a RINO — a Republican in name only.
Legislative District 17 is predominantly Republican, but Democrats still hope to compete with the winner of the GOP primary election in the general race.
The winner of the Republican primary will face off against Democrat John McLean in November.
Legislative District 22
Embattled former lawmaker Leezah Sun is trailing Sen. Eva Diaz (D-Tolleson) in the Democratic Senate Primary in Legislative District 22, a heavy-Democratic district that covers parts of Phoenix, Avondale, Tolleson and Goodyear.
The most recent results show Diaz with 76% of the vote.
Both Sun, a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives, and Diaz were first elected to office in 2022.
But Sun resigned before the end of her first term minutes before her colleagues were planning a vote to expel her following an investigation into allegations she harassed and threatened local government officials in her district.
Sun’s fellow Democrats filed an ethics complaint against her late last year after City of Tolleson employees and others accused her of threats and harassment. During an ethics hearing, witnesses testified that, among other transgressions, Sun threatened to slap a lobbyist for the city and throw her off a balcony.
Not long after her resignation, Sun filed papers to run for the legislature again, this time seeking a seat in the Arizona Senate.
Diaz, the incumbent, took an non-traditional path to the legislature, running as a write-in candidate in the 2022 general election after former lawmaker Diego Espinoza, who won the Democratic primary that year, withdrew from the race.
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