Meet the candidates in the 2024 Arizona Legislative District 17 Senate race: Republican Vince Leach and Democrat John McLean.
Legislative District 17 is a Republican-leaning area including parts of Tucson and the area around it. Democrats have fielded candidates in both the House and Senate races for the district, though it’s all currently represented by Republicans.
Vince Leach
Party: Republican
Website: vinceleachforsenate.com
Leach is a former lawmaker hoping to regain his seat in the state legislature. Leach served in the state Senate and state House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 2022 and was beaten out by Senator Justine Wadsack in the primary election. This year, Leach knocked Wadsack off in the primary.
While in office; Leach supported tax cuts and opposed the legalization of medical marijuana. He co-sponsored a controversial bill in 2022 that would have mandated hand counts of ballots and given lawmakers power to reject election results. On his campaign site; Leach lists border security and strengthening the economy among his priorities.
John McLean
McLean is a Democrat and a political newcomer hoping to flip a conservative-leaning seat out of Republican control. He is a former engineer and CEO now working at a tech company.
McLean says on his campaign website that he supports raising teacher pay and protecting Arizona’s water supply by limiting the export of our water. He also lists “fiscal discipline and accountability” and reproductive rights among his top priorities.
Party: Democrat
Website: mcleanforarizona.com
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Every two years, Arizonans cast their votes in primary and general elections. And every two years, critics complain it takes too many days for all the votes to be counted. Through KJZZ’s Q&AZ project, a listener asked: Why does the vote counting process take so long?
