By Katie Campbell and Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times
The “blue wave” appears to have missed Arizona.
Democrats not only failed to make significant strides at the statewide level but also remain the minority party in both the state House and Senate.
For all the talk that this year, 2018, would finally be the year Democrats could move the needle in the Senate, the chamber will remain under GOP control, likely with a 17-13 split.
Republican incumbents did fall to Democrats in three House races, but their defeat only narrows the split in that chamber to 32-28.
Republican Reps. Todd Clodfelter of Tucson, Jill Norgaard of Phoenix and Maria Syms of Paradise Valley all lost their re-election bids. But the circumstances of their outster don’t quite match the narrative of a Democratic resurgence and rejection of the status quo in the GOP.
Clodfelter has lost before in Legislative District 10, which was represented by two Democrats in 2014 and 2012 before he was elected in 2016. As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, he had fallen behind incumbent Rep. Kirsten Engel and Democratic newcomer Domingo DeGrazia.
Norgaard’s district swung in favor of Democrats back in 2016, and newcomer Jennifer Jermaine seems to have taken advantage of that. Jermaine and incumbent Rep. Mitzi Epstein led Norgaard by a comfortable margin.
