Arizona Republicans pick nominees for governor and other top offices

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans voted for nominees Tuesday to situation Democrats who clasp apical offices arsenic the GOP searches for a way backmost to powerfulness successful a battleground authorities it utilized to dominate.

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who correspond neighboring districts successful metro Phoenix, offered a clash of styles successful the contention to instrumentality connected Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, considered the astir endangered Democratic politician successful the state this predetermination cycle.

With President Donald Trump's endorsement and enactment from the grassroots turnout instrumentality of the blimpish radical Turning Point Action, Biggs said helium tin unite the enactment going into a wide election.

Schweikert said his low-key, pro-business, fiscal conservatism tin triumph backmost voters turned disconnected by a drawstring of Trump loyalists similar Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for politician 4 years ago.

Both parties had hotly contested primaries to regenerate Schweikert successful the highly competitory 1st Congressional District.

Republicans were besides picking nominees for caput of authorities and lawyer general, cardinal posts with powerfulness implicit elections successful a authorities that was pivotal for Trump's efforts to overturn his nonaccomplishment successful 2020.

Ahead polls closing successful the evening, officials successful Maricopa County, which includes metro Phoenix and two-thirds of the state's voters, said 2 polling sites had powerfulness outages, and voters were directed to different adjacent locations. Several polling places besides had method problems earlier successful the day, including connectivity issues with physics canvass books, that were resolved.

Maricopa County has been an epicenter of predetermination conspiracy theories since Trump mislaid his reelection bid successful 2020, and handling of elections is intimately scrutinized.

Biggs and Schweikert responded otherwise to Trump's GOP takeover

Biggs built a nationalist illustration arsenic seat of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and arsenic a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s effort to artifact the certification of his nonaccomplishment successful the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and different battleground states aft the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

He has ever represented harmless Republican seats and is simply a seasoned of factional brawls wrong the GOP. Before going to Congress, helium astir mislaid his station arsenic authorities Senate president during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, besides a Republican, implicit her propulsion to grow Medicaid.

In the foothills of McDowell Mountain, conscionable northeast of the Phoenix metro country successful Scottsdale, gait signs dotted the entranceway to a polling spot parking lot

“I privation the borderline secured. I privation the constabulary and much wealth spent successful the close places similar education,” said Kate Rouleau, a 67-year-old Republican who voted for Biggs. “Biggs has the aforesaid prime arsenic President Trump.”

Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, cautiously keeping his region without antagonizing him. That has helped him triumph a drawstring of pugnacious races successful a competitory House territory — a way grounds helium says volition assistance him triumph implicit plaything voters and bushed Hobbs — but has near him isolated from Trump's “ Make America Great Again ” base.

Democrats focused their attacks connected Biggs, whom they program to represent arsenic an extremist focused connected helping Trump and not Arizonans.

Primaries acceptable the tract for a apical House battleground

Schweikert’s 1st District is simply a apical battleground successful the combat for a legislature majority. Anchored successful Scottsdale, it is location to galore of the white, highly educated and affluent voters who person soured connected the GOP nether Trump.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee controversially threw its enactment down Marlene Galán-Woods, a erstwhile tv quality anchor who utilized to beryllium a Republican. Her precocious husband, Grant Woods, was the Republican lawyer wide successful the 1990s and aboriginal became a vocal Trump critic.

Galán-Woods’ main opponent, Amish Shah, is an exigency medicine doc and erstwhile authorities legislator who was the nominee successful 2024 but mislaid narrowly to Schweikert.

On the Republican side, erstwhile Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely had Trump’s endorsement. But helium was dogged by disapproval for surviving extracurricular the territory — helium resides successful Biggs’ territory and primitively was moving determination until Trump endorsed a rival successful that contest.

Feely faced Joseph Chaplik, a erstwhile authorities legislator fashionable with galore of the GOP’s grassroots activists, and businessperson John Trobough.

In Tucson, retired Marine drill teacher JoAnna Mendoza ran unopposed for the Democratic information to situation second-term Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who besides had nary superior opponent. The spot is perennially competitory successful wide elections and is simply a apical pickup people for Democrats successful November.

Meanwhile, the GOP superior for the harmless Republican spot Biggs is vacating turned salacious: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who was endorsed by Trump, came nether scrutiny for alleged intersexual misconduct and maltreatment of power.

The region lawyer cleared him of transgression wrongdoing, and Trump reiterated his endorsement this month. Lamb dismissed the allegations arsenic “slander and lies.”

He faced Daniel Keenan, who owns a operation company.

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Associated Press writer Josh Kelety contributed.

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This communicative has been updated to close the spelling of Feely.

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