Pandemic fails to deter voter turnout McSally wins easily; voters mostly stick with incumbents
Despite a global pandemic and a new voting process in Arizona’s most populous county, more than 1 million Arizonans cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election.
Early tallies suggested they largely voted as expected — with a few notable exceptions.
In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Martha McSally, RAriz., trounced primary Glendale businessman Daniel McCarthy easily. But in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran didn’t hold the significant advantage over challenger Eva Putzova he’d likely hoped for.
In races for the state Legislature, most sitting senators and representatives appeared to be successfully defending their seats. But incumbent Sen. Heather Carter was locked in a tight race with conservative Rep. Nancy Barto, and Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale, seemed to be in trouble.
In Maricopa County, the frontrunner in the Democrat
ic primary for county attorney, Julie Gunnigle, held a comfortable lead over opponents Will Knight and Robert McWhirter. But incumbent Treasurer Royce Flora trailed his challenger, Republican state lawmaker John Allen.
And former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was giving Jerry Sheridan, his former deputy chief, a tough fight in a four-way Republican primary race for the county’s top law enforcement job. Sheridan held a slim lead over Arpaio in early returns.
Though fewer Arizonans voted in person this year, the number of mail-in and early ballots exceeded total vote counts from the 2016 and 2018 primary elections. A change in state law allowed election officials to start tallying incoming ballots 14 days before Tuesday’s primary rather than the usual seven.
The new voting framework rolled out in Maricopa County to protect voters and poll workers during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced a few hiccups early on. One polling place in the East Valley couldn’t count ballots for about an hour, and some voters unaccustomed to picking wherever they wanted to vote got confused about where to go.
But overall, the process appeared to work smoothly — a good sign for those viewing it as a dress rehearsal for the coming presidential election.
Tuesday’s results could have broad implications at every level of government.
Democrats have a chance to gain control of key congressional districts, flip the state Legislature and reform county sentencing policies in November. Republicans want to maintain control of both legislative chambers and have no plans to relinquish local or congressional seats.
The success of either party could hinge on which candidates emerge victorious this week.
“In my lifetime, I don’t think I’ve experienced an election that was so important and had so much riding on it,” voter Cheri Booth, 49, said as she dropped off her ballot in Chandler. “It’ll be really interesting to see what happens.”
At the congressional level, Democrats had an important decision to make in the Scottsdale-based, Republicanleaning 6th Congressional District.
Four Democrats were vying for the nomination and the right to challenge U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who is embroiled in a House Ethics Committee investigation over alleged misspending by his campaign and his office.
Physician Hiral Tipirneni beat former tech executive Anita Malik and business owners Karl Gentles and Stephanie Rimmer. Tipirneni had raised the most money by far, likely because of her surprisingly narrow loss in a 2018 special election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which leans heavily Republican.
In the Tucson-based 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, DAriz., was well ahead of Peter Quilter, who was making his first bid for office, in the Democratic primary.
In the 4th Congressional District, which spans northwestern Arizona and wraps around the Valley, longtime Republican Congressman Paul Gosar seemed to be on track to beat challenger Anne Marie Ward.
At the state level, Tuesday’s election served as a litmus test for members of both parties, with Republicans deciding just how far right they want their lawmakers to go and Democrats choosing just how far to the left they envision their potential majority after November.
The District 15 primary between Carter and Barto was a key example: Barto, who leans further right, held a slim lead over Carter, who is more moderate. Early results also indicated another Republican on the party’s right flank, Wendy Rogers, appeared to be performing strongly against incumbent Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake.
The scandals surrounding Republican Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, and Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, leading up to the election didn’t scare off voters, however. Both incumbents held strong leads.
Incumbents on the Democratic Party’s left were doing well, despite business groups spending hundreds of thousands of dollars across several districts to promote more moderate candidates.
In Tempe, Sen. Juan Mendez ran for reelection with state Rep. Athena Salman and paramedic Melody Hernandez on a Millennial slate that called for, among other things, 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and the elimination of cash bail.
In south Phoenix, Democratic voters appeared to deny former legislator Catherine Miranda a comeback after incumbent Reps. Reginald Bolding and
Diego Rodriguez argued she was too conservative.
In Maricopa County, if Gunnigle holds on to her large primary lead, she will challenge Allister Adel for the county attorney post in November. Adel, a Republican, was appointed in October after Gov. Doug Ducey named Bill Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Gunnigle, Knight and McWhirter had offered different strategies for shared goals, including reducing the state’s prison population and easing sentencing for low-level drug offenders. Voters largely viewed the race as a decision between Gunnigle’s more moderate approach and Knight’s more aggressive stance.
Meanwhile, Republican voters picked from four county sheriff candidates hoping to challenge incumbent Democrat Paul Penzone. Arpaio, the man who held the job for six terms before losing to Penzone in 2016, wasn’t in the lead Tuesday evening but was close behind in early results.