AZ-LD17: 'The most important district to flip': Democrats aim to turn a red Tucson district blue

Former Republican state Sen. Vince Leach beat incumbent Sen. Justine Wadsack in the primary election with Leach often citing her “extreme” views in ads and mailers ahead of the primary earlier this year. Leach winning was seen as a boon to the GOP’s chances of holding onto its one-seat majority in the state Senate: While he may be just as conservative as Wadsack, he’s far less controversial than Wadsack, who trafficked in QAnon and other conspiracy theories, cozied up to antisemites and attacked police after she was charged with criminal speeding.

While registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats in the district, it’s the unaffiliated voters that make up a sizable portion of voters in the region that both parties are trying to tap into. For Democrats, victory is only possible if they capture the lion’s share of independent voters — and convince some right-of-center Republicans to cross party lines.

“This is a really, really critical time,” Kevin Volk, the Democrat who is running for one of the district’s two House seats, said to supporters ahead of a day of canvassing. Volk added that they’re expecting the margin of victory in the race to be “small” for either side. “This is the most important district to flip in Arizona.”

The stakes couldn’t be much higher. Democrats are making their largest ever push for control of the Arizona Legislature, which Republicans have controlled with a nearly iron grip since the mid-1960s. But the last two elections have left the GOP with mere one-seat majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and Democrats see the presidential election this year as their best opportunity to flip both of those chambers.




https://azmirror.com/2024/10/22/the-most-important-district-to-flip-democrats-aim-to-turn-a-red-tucson-district-blue/