Top 3 Stories From Arizona’s Primaries

Arizona held its primaries on Tuesday, officially determining the matchups in the upcoming midterms. Here are the biggest takeaways from Tuesday night. 

Democratic Socialist Loses To Incumbent 

One of the key trends over the last year has been the surge in democratic socialists securing upset victories over establishment Democrats. Democratic Socialist Kai Newkirk made his best effort to upset incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) but ultimately fell short. The Washington Post reports that Stanton handily won his primary on Tuesday and will face Republican Zhudi Jasser in the midterms. 

Newkirk’s loss isn’t terribly surprising considering that many of us didn’t know who he was until his signs started going up around Tempe in May. I’m completely up front about my progressive leanings. Especially since believing that a full-time job should pay for rent and groceries is apparently a far-left position now. 

While age hasn’t made me more conservative (quite the opposite, actually), it has made me more pragmatic. Newkirk’s campaign just didn’t really drive home how he’d be an improvement over Stanton. While Arizona has increasingly become a purple state, I’ve found that the general vibe is that folks are either center right or center left. Stanton is a well-liked, moderate Democrat who appeals to the sizable amount of centrists in the district. 

It’s only after writing all that I’m realizing I didn’t establish that I live in the district Stanton represents. Well. You know now. Anyway, moving on! 

Democrats National Campaign Arm Faces Loss

The New York Times reports that Dr. Amish Shah beat former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods to secure the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. 

This outcome really wasn’t surprising since Shah beat Galán-Woods in 2024 to secure the Democratic nomination for the seat and narrowly lost to Schweikert in that election. Despite that history, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee still decided to endorse Galán-Woods, a former Republican who switched parties in 2018. The move by the DCCC revealed that National Democrats are still trying to appeal to the mythical, anti-Trump Republican instead of energizing their base.

What made the choice even stranger is the fact that Shah isn’t even a progressive. He’s a moderate Democrat campaigning on lowering costs, improving access to healthcare, and pushing back against partisan gerrymandering. 

Shah will face off against former NFL kicker Jay Feely, who secured the Republican nomination on Tuesday. The race is expected to be one of the most expensive this year, as Democrats hope to seize the opportunity to flip the seat previously represented by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), who decided to forgo reelection to run for governor. 

Speaking of the governor’s race…

Election Denier Secures Republican Nomination For Governor

The Hill reports that Andy Biggs secured the Republican nomination for governor and is set to face current Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, who went unopposed in the primaries. Biggs has the support of President Donald Trump as well as Turning Point Action, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk. 

Biggs is a staunch Trump ally and was one of the loudest voices when it came to denying the results of the 2020 election. Biggs tried to convince Arizona officials to overturn the results of the 2020 election and said that it was still undetermined who Arizona elected for president during a House hearing in 2021. Hobbs beat Kari Lake, a hard-right election denier, in 2023. Hobbs’s team is driving home Biggs’s history of election lies and framing him as too extreme for Arizona. 

Despite Biggs’s apparent extremism, Arizona’s gubernatorial race is seen as one of the most competitive, with the GOP believing they can flip the seat this fall. 

SEE ALSO:

Everything You Need To Know About Arizona’s Primaries

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Top 3 Stories From Arizona’s Primaries was originally published on newsone.com