Legislative races to watch in the primary
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Before Democrats and Republicans can slug it out for control of the Legislature, they'll have to decide who will represent them on the ballot in November.
Why it matters: Because the majority of Arizona's 30 legislative districts are one-party dominant, the winners of most of the state's legislative races will be determined by the July 30 primary rather than the general election.
State of play: Republicans hold one-vote majorities in both chambers, and Democrats are hopeful they'll finally win control of the Legislature.
Zoom in: Axios Phoenix took a look at some of the more competitive and notable primary races that'll be on ballots across the state when early voting begins July 3.
LD1 Senate (R): Senator and former secretary of state Ken Bennett (R-Prescott), who won back his old Yavapai County-based Senate seat in 2022 after a 16-year absence from the Legislature, faces a three-way primary in this Republican stronghold.
- Bennett has broken with his GOP colleagues on several notable occasions, costing Republicans their crucial 16th vote.
- Former southern Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem, a Trump-aligned election denier who lost the 2022 secretary of state's race, moved to the district and is challenging Bennett.
- Steve Zipperman, a real estate broker and former attorney, is also running.
LD7 Senate (R): Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) is termed out of his House seat and is challenging incumbent Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), a controversial MAGA firebrand in this conservative, rural northeastern Arizona district.
LD17 Senate (R): Newcomer Sen. Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) defeated incumbent former Sen. Vince Leach in 2022, and Leach is hoping to return the favor by wresting his old seat back from her.
- The district, which covers the northern Tucson area and parts of Pinal County, is predominantly Republican, but Democrats didn't lose by much two years ago and are making a play for it.
- Democrats view Wadsack, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, as more beatable than Leach.
LD22 Senate (D): Rep. Leezah Sun (D-Phoenix) resigned earlier this year shortly before a vote to expel her from office after an ethics committee found that she'd made threatening comments about a lobbyist and engaged in other questionable behavior.
- But Sun is still looking to unseat incumbent Sen. Eva Diaz (D-Tolleson) in this heavily Democratic West Valley district.
LD5 House (D): Both representatives in this central Phoenix district resigned earlier this year — one for a congressional race and one for a new job — and Democrats Charles Lucking and Sarah Liguori, a former lawmaker, were appointed to fill the seats.
- Challengers Aaron Márquez and Dorri Thyden are hoping to unseat the appointed incumbents in this overwhelmingly Democratic district.
LD7 House (R): Incumbent Rep. David Marshall (R-Snowflake) is joined by five others vying for the heavily GOP district's two House seats.
- Among the challengers are former Reps. Walt Blackman and John Fillmore, as well as Steve Slaton, whose military records contradict his claim that he served in Vietnam.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note John Fillmore's first name.