By Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
Rep. Tom O’Halleran is trying to squeeze between a Democratic challenger well to his left and get past a Republican challenger not carrying the kind of heavy political baggage that sank his two previous GOP opponents.
O’Halleran, a centrist Arizona Democrat and former Chicago police detective, has a huge cash advantage over all his challengers. Nonpartisan political pundits believe Democrats are likely to hold the seat in November.
The primaries in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District are a curiosity because the region that runs from the Utah border to the outskirts of Tucson could again be the state’s closest battleground in U.S. House races.
It’s the only district in Arizona that President Donald Trump carried in 2016 where voters also backed a Democrat for the House.
In the Democratic primary, former Flagstaff City Council member Eva Putzova is challenging O’Halleran, arguing that he is part of the corporation-friendly culture in Washington.
Republicans will choose between Tiffany Shedd, a lawyer and cotton farmer making her second bid for Congress, and Nolan Reidhead, a lawyer making his first attempt. Both are wooing GOP voters by touting their support for Trump, especially on border security.
