Here’s what we’re watching today as voters head to the primary polls in Arizona.
How comfortably will Lake advance to the general? Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake is the massive favorite to take on Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in November. A recent poll found Sheriff Mark Lamb trailing Lake by 12 points. It’s a tighter race than many in Washington may have expected given Lake has locked up every major GOP endorsement. Gallego leads most general election polls at this early stage in the race.
What Democrat will take on Schweikert? Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) is a major target for Democrats in the state’s competitive 1st District. A crowded group of Democrats are running to unseat Schweikert in a seat that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. The top tier of candidates include former Arizona Democratic Party Chair Andrei Cherny, former state legislator Amish Shah, former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods and businessman Conor O’Callaghan.
Will Trump’s endorsement gimmick matter in the 8th District? The race to succeed retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) appears to be a battle between Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh. Trump endorsed Hamadeh — the losing 2022 attorney general candidate — in 2023. But in a bizarre switch, Trump backed both Masters and Hamadeh this week. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), has endorsed Masters, the unsuccessful Senate candidate in 2022. Lesko, for what it’s worth, is endorsing Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma.
Will a crypto PAC make the difference in the safe-blue 3rd District? Democrats Raquel Terán and Yassamin Ansari are dueling it out to fill Gallego’s seat. In the election’s closing stages, crypto PAC Protect Progress is spending millions of dollars to boost Ansari over Terán. The CHC BOLD PAC has endorsed Terán and is furious at the outside spending that the group argues is targeting the state’s potential first Latina member of Congress.
And here are two other campaign updates for you:
New Dem Action Fund news: The political arm of the New Democrat Coalition is endorsing Missy Cotter Smasal in Virginia’s 2nd District, John Mannion in New York’s 22nd District, Eugene Vindman in Virginia’s 7th District, Suhas Subramanyam in Virginia’s 10th District and Herb Conaway in New Jersey’s 3rd District.
Harris hosts Latino outreach event: Last Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff hosted a barbecue event at the VP’s residence along with the Voto Latino Foundation. Hollywood stars like America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Gina Torres and Wilson Cruz were in attendance.
We reported last week that Voto Latino registered a major uptick in Latino voter registrations in the days after Harris launched her bid.
