Arizona’s primary Tuesday night saw several candidates who questioned the results of previous elections gain ground, the latest sign of Donald Trump’s deepening mark on the Republican Party in the Grand Canyon state.
In the night’s most significant races, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Republican Kari Lake were officially chosen as their parties’ respective Senate nominees.
But voters also weighed in on several other contested primaries, including those for seats vacated by Gallego and Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). Primary night also offered some clues about what voters could expect in November.
Here are five early takeaways from the Arizona primary:
A victorious night for election deniers
Tuesday night was certainly a good night for election deniers.
Lake, who refused to admit his defeat in the 2022 election, won the Republican Party primary. Abe Hamadeh, a former attorney general candidate running in the GOP primary for the 8th Congressional District, called the 2020 election “rigged” and claimed that Trump won his state that year. He led his Republican rival, Blake Masters, another Trump ally, by 30% to 23% at press time.
Former state representative Mark Finchem, a former candidate for secretary of state who also defended unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election,was leading his next Republican rival45 percent to 37 percent, with 60 percent of the estimated votes reported Wednesday morning.
And in one of the biggest surprises of the night, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a top election official who has dismissed false claims of fraud about the election, was trailing one of his hardline GOP primary opponents.
In short, the night underscored the extent to which election denialism has taken hold in the base of the Republican Party in Arizona.
A landmark race for the Senate is scheduled
Gallego and Lake were already in general election mode long before the primaries, as both candidates were heavily favored to win.
On Tuesday night, the confrontation was made official.
Lake had a primary rival, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, though Decision Desk HQ quickly called the race for her on Tuesday.
In a nod to the long-awaited faceoff, the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm quickly released a new digital ad targeting Lake. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, called the former local news anchor “a power-hungry liar” while praising Gallego as “a proven fighter for families and priorities of your state. ”
Meanwhile, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chairman of the Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm, called Gallego “one of the most radical Democrats in the country” as he congratulated Lake on his primary victory.
A set of Arizona polls compiled by DDHQ shows Gallego leading Lago 47% to 43%. The nonpartisan election pollster Cook Political Report rates the seat as “lean Democratic.”
Potential warning signs for Lake
Although Lake quickly won the Republican nomination, Lamb still received a notable share of the Republican Party primary vote.
Lake received 53 percent of the vote to Lamb’s 41 percent, with 63 percent of the estimated vote reported Wednesday morning, raising questions about whether the sheriff’s supporters will ultimately flock to her in November.
Lake has always been a divisive figure within the Republican Party. She sought to court skeptics and the McCain faction of the Republican Party after isolating them last cycle when she ran for governor of Arizona.
But the former local news anchor has functioned, in many ways, like the same conservative firebrand she ran in 2022, and some of her skeptics remain unconvinced about her candidacy.
Whether that will hurt her in November remains to be seen, but Tuesday’s split vote share suggests she may have work to do to woo some Republicans.
Masters ready to defeat – again
Masters first gained national attention as a candidate supported by conservative businessman Peter Thiel in the 2022 Arizona Senate race. He ended up losing to Democrat Mark Kelly, who is now considered Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Masters appeared poised for yet another defeat Tuesday night, this time in the GOP primary in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District against Hamadeh.
The former Senate candidate received a last-minute endorsement from Trump — who also backed Masters’ opponent Hamadeh, saying they were both equally good candidates.
Other Republicans who ran in the GOP race to replace Lesko included Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma and former Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.).
Arizona is slow in counting votes
Tuesday night also highlighted a key point that will be relevant in November: Arizona takes a long time to count votes.
As of Wednesday morning, many races had not yet been called.
Part of this appears to be due to a recently enacted law that changes how mail-in ballots are verified. The law led to confusion among some officials about how they should track mail-in ballots, according to Arizona Mirror.
The slow length of Tuesday’s count offers clues about what to expect in November. If control of the White House or Senate ends up depending on Arizona, it could take days to know the results of those elections.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
