PHOENIX (CN) — Key races in Arizona's primaries, just two weeks away, could help sway the national political landscape in an already turbulent presidential election year.
Kari Lake, still challenging her loss for governor to Katie Hobbs in 2022, is now aiming for the U.S. Senate, running against an Arizona sheriff who shares her ideas but touts experience as his biggest advantage over the former news anchor.
In Arizona's 8th Congressional District, Blake Masters, Abe Hamadeh and four other Republicans are competing to replace fellow GOP member Representative Debbie Lesko. Meanwhile, in the 1st District, two former Republicans lead the polling in a crowded field of Democrats seeking to challenge incumbent Representative David Schweikert, a Republican.
U.S. Senate — Republican Primary
Though Republicans hold one more U.S. Senate seat, Democrats have a one-vote majority thanks to the loyal support of the chamber’s three independents. When Democrat-turned-independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced she wouldn’t seek reelection, the fight for her seat became key for control of the chamber. The winner of the Republican primary will run against U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat.
“This is absolutely a battleground state,” Francisco Pedraza, a political science professor at Arizona State University, told Courthouse News.
Lake became a household name in Arizona when former President Donald Trump endorsed her for governor in 2021. She lost the election to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes and has failed multiple election challenges in both state and federal court.
“There are some key differences between Kari Lake and Mark Lamb,” Pedraza said. He believes Pinal County Sheriff Lamb, having distanced himself from unproven election fraud claims, may have an easier time debating Gallego in the general election.
Lamb has gained popularity as Arizona continues to confront issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. While his approach is similar to Lake’s — increase border wall and border patrol funding, reduce asylum seekers and crack down on fentanyl — his experience as a sheriff may set him apart.
“There’s a country-mile difference of experience,” Lamb told Courthouse News outside a campaign event in Chandler. “There’s not a candidate that brings more experience than what I do: crime, national security, border security.”
But Lake, who commands a larger audience and enjoys a comfortable lead over Lamb in most recent polls, seems unbothered. She skipped a debate in June, saying she’s confident she’ll beat Lamb anyway.
Lamb said, “I’ve never hired anybody that didn’t show up for a job interview.”
Lake’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Both candidates are anti-abortion but say they would oppose a federal abortion ban and leave the choice to the states. In 2022, Lake called Arizona’s near-total abortion ban “a great law” but switched her stance after the state Supreme Court revived the law, in a possible attempt to appeal to moderate voters.
Pedraza said the shift won’t hurt her in the primary but may become an issue if she runs into Gallego.
“That’s the kind of thing a Democratic candidate will pounce on,” he said.
8th Congressional District — Republican Primary
Six Republicans and one Democrat are competing to replace incumbent Representative Debbie Lesko, a Republican retiring from the U.S. House of Representatives, though the race will likely come down to two.
“It’ll be between Hamadeh and Masters,” Pedraza said, all but dismissing Democratic candidate Gregory Whitten in a district that is solidly Republican.
Like Lake, Hamadeh launched several election challenges after he lost the 2022 attorney general race by only 280 votes — the smallest margin in state history. He has publicly questioned election integrity. But in May, Masters shared texts from January 2023 in which Hamadeh called election deniers “crazies” and said he was glad he wasn’t “lumped in” with them. Masters said Hamadeh is using his voters.
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