Tuesday was an eventful primary day in Arizona, which will be crucial in the battle for the White House, House and Senate this November. Here’s what we learned:
It’s Lake vs. Gallego in the Senate: Republican Kari Lake advanced to the general election to face Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Lake easily won her GOP primary against Sheriff Mark Lamb and now faces the much tougher task of victory in a toss-up Senate race. Democrats will paint Lake as an extremist who is still obsessed with her unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial run. Republicans, for their part, see Gallego’s progressive record in the House as a liability in November.
In a number of competitive House primaries, however, the races are still too close to call.
Arizona’s 1st District Democratic primary: Former state legislator Amish Shah narrowly leads Andrei Cherny and Marlene Galán-Woods with roughly 70% of votes tallied. The Democrats are vying to take on Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) in November. The district voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 and is a top target for national Democrats.
Arizona’s 8th District Republican primary: Abe Hamadeh leads Blake Masters and Ben Toma by a couple thousand votes with 70% of the vote counted. This is a safe red seat vacated by Rep. Debbie Lesko’s (R-Ariz.) upcoming retirement. Former President Donald Trump played a big role in the primary by initially backing Hamadeh and then endorsing both Masters and Hamadeh. Lesko had endorsed Toma.
Arizona’s 3rd District Democratic primary: Raquel Terán narrowly trails Yassamin Ansari by under four points with nearly 80% of the vote in. Terán was backed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) but had to compete against a million-dollar-plus ad buy boosting Ansari from the cryptocurrency-focused Protect Progress PAC.
In other news: Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) easily won his 2nd District primary in a sixty-point romp. Crane voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy but looks very likely to return to Congress for a second term.
