By Evan Wyloge | Arizona Capitol Times
Races for the Arizona Corporation Commission typically get less attention than the body’s utility-regulating powers perhaps warrant, but many in the elections business say the details of the outcomes can be highly valuable.
The commission’s relative obscurity means voters frequently pay less attention to individual candidates and vote closer to their partisan sentiment.
That characteristic is strengthened by the fact that the profile of the Corporation Commission race fits well with the state’s public financing system. Corporation Commission candidates have overwhelmingly come to use it over private campaign funding. Because of that, when it comes to campaign staff size or the amount of advertising candidates can afford, both sides are on roughly equal footing.
