AZ Legislative Update 07-22-2022

The 2022 legislative session adjourned less than a month ago, but lawmakers have already found many reasons to return to the Capitol. Study committees started their efforts to better understand teen mental health, Arizona’s housing supply, and the state’s failure to investigate abuse complaints in long-term care facilities. Oversight committees convened to discuss state agency investments in IT and infrastructure – including state prison facilities.

When they’re not at the Capitol, legislators are spending their time on the campaign trail. There is a lot at stake in Arizona’s 2022 election cycle, and both political parties hope the focus on high-profile issues like abortion and inflation will help drive participation from their side of the aisle. Campaigns are receiving and spending record-breaking amounts, flooding the airwaves and mailboxes with advertising.

Much of the focus is on the Primary Election, which takes place on August 2. There is a lot at stake in this first round of the election cycle. Primary Elections determine the winners within each political party, and those winners advance to the General Election in November. For many candidates around the state, the Primary Election is a formality. If they’re not competing with members of their own party for available elected positions, they can focus on their race against the other party’s candidate in November.

For others, though, the Primary Election is the most important one. In races across the state, Republican voters will decide between candidates whose campaigns focus on more traditionally conservative issues like the economy and public safety and those who build their campaigns around concerns about the 2020 election. These races are a part of the intraparty struggle unfolding in every state in the U.S. This dynamic is not unique to Republicans. In some legislative races, it’s the Democrats who are vying against each other, differing on their approach to political engagement rather than their positions on political issues.

Here are several key races to watch:

• Legislative District 5

Three Democratic legislators (Representatives Sarah Liguori, Jennifer Longdon, and Amish Shah) are vying for just two House seats in this central Phoenix district. The candidates agree on most policy issues but have sometimes differed in their approach to pursuing their goals. The crowded race also includes two challengers (Aaron Márquez and Brianna Westbrook) who hope to unseat the current lawmakers. Two political newcomers (Al Jones and Sarah Tyree) are challenging Senator Lela Alston’s pursuit of another term in the Senate.

• Legislative District 7

Redistricting put two current state senators into the same district that spreads across the center of the state. The competition between Senator Wendy Rogers (Flagstaff) and Senator Kelly Townsend (Apache Junction) is focused on political expression: Both senators have been outspoken proponents of the Senate’s ballot recount and former President Trump, but Senator Rogers’ social media posts have drawn national attention and criticism from her colleagues. Senator Townsend has built her campaign on a call for less divisive discourse.

• Legislative District 9

Senator Tyler Pace is one of the most politically moderate members of the Senate Republican        caucus – a factor that caused former police officer Robert Scantlebury to run as a more conservative candidate in this East Valley district.

• Legislative District 10

Current House Speaker Rusty Bowers and former state Senator David Farnsworth are vying against each other for a Senate seat in this Mesa district. Both are political conservatives, but the high-profile race is sharply divided by fractions within the Arizona Republican Party.

• Legislative District 29

This West Valley district is another example of Republican disagreement about what political positions are “conservative.” Current Representative Joanne Osborne hopes to move to an open seat in the state Senate, but she faces strong opposition from far-right candidates. That dynamic also exists in the House race, where former Representative Steve Montenegro leads a ticket focused on defeating candidates viewed to be politically moderate.

In other districts across the state, current lawmakers from both political parties face Primary Election challenges from newcomers who believe they could do the job better than those who already hold the office.

Visit www.azcleanelections.gov/voter-dashboard for more information on how to vote and who is running in your district.