MAGA Sweeps Arizona’s Republican Primary Election

MAGA Republicans swept Arizona’s primary elections on Tuesday. Although the votes have not been completely tabulated, in the races where a candidate has a significant lead, it’s rare that the losing candidate will get enough more votes to catch up. Close to 1 million ballots appear to have been tabulated already. The turnout was lower than usual. The total vote count is expected to be lower than in the last similar primary in 2022, when almost 1.5 million voted.  

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) easily won the GOP gubernatorial primary, with 73.4% to Rep. David Schweikert’s (R-AZ-01) 14.7%. Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) held a commanding lead over Rodney Glassman in the attorney general’s race, 56.2% to 43.8%.

State Rep. Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) was far ahead of his opponent in the secretary of state’s race, with 59.6% to former Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) Chair Gina Swoboda. Former AZGOP Treasurer Elijah Norton held a substantial lead over his opponent Katherine Haley in the state treasurer’s race, 55.9% to 44.21%.

One of the biggest upsets of the election was State Treasurer Kimberly Yee’s significant lead over incumbent State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, 53% to 47%. Horne came under fire by school choice proponents for his treatment of the state’s Empowerment Savings Accounts.