Tempe's Navarro plans Board of Supervisors run that could give Democrats a majority
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Maricopa County Supervisor Jack Sellers in 2021. Photo: Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images
Tempe City Council member Joel Navarro is forgoing re-election to run for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, a race that could pave the way for Democrats to win a majority for the first time in decades.
Driving the news: Navarro tells Axios Phoenix he plans to run in District 1, which includes Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe.
- The district is currently represented by Republican Supervisor Jack Sellers.
The intrigue: Navarro has "nothing against Jack Sellers" and thinks he's doing a "wonderful job" but is skeptical Sellers will be the GOP nominee next year.
- State Sen. Jake Hoffman, a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, is rumored to be considering a primary challenge to Sellers.
- Many people from Hoffman's wing of the GOP are hostile to Sellers and his Republican board colleagues, largely over allegations surrounding the 2020 and 2022 elections.
- Navarro says he'd likely fare better against Hoffman and would get support from moderate voters, while he and Sellers would be "going after the same demographics."
Yes, but: When Axios Phoenix asked Hoffman via text message on Tuesday about the rumors he'll challenge Sellers in the GOP primary, he wrote back: "You need better sources."
- However, he did not definitively rule it out.
The big picture: The Board of Supervisors has long been a Republican stronghold, with four Republicans and one Democrat.
- Changing demographics and the county's recent redistricting could give Democrats a chance to win two or three seats on the board.
- "If it does translate that way, it could turn the tables there," Navarro said.
Between the lines: Republicans hold a distinct voter registration advantage in District 1, making up nearly 36% of the electorate to Democrats' 28%, but recent election results indicate it could be competitive.
- District 1 became more favorable for Republicans in redistricting, but its voters still favored Democrats in most recent statewide races.
- According to an analysis by Democratic data consultant Sam Almy, President Biden won 50.3% of the district's votes to Donald Trump's 47.6% in 2020.
- Democratic candidates for governor, secretary of state and attorney general won the district last year, and Democratic U.S. Senate nominees won there in 2022, 2020 and 2018.
The other side: Sellers says he tends "to be fairly nonpolitical" and isn't paying much attention to the partisan makeup of his district or rumored opponents.
- "I just want to do my job. I enjoy doing my job. So that's where my concentration is," he tells Axios Phoenix.
Meanwhile, former Phoenix City Council member Daniel Valenzuela, a Democrat, is running for the open seat in District 3, which covers much of north and central Phoenix and became more favorable for his party in redistricting.
- Incumbent GOP Supervisor Bill Gates isn't seeking re-election.
- GOP candidates Kate Brophy McGee and Tabatha LaVoie have filed to run as well.
- Republicans have a razor-thin voter registration edge in the district, but Democrats have won the district in most statewide races over the past few elections.
Flashback: Gates and Sellers only narrowly defeated their Democratic challengers in 2020.