OPINION 11/4/2O20
By Public Policy Partners
Arizona once again found itself as a battle ground state both on the national and local stages. President Trump personally visited our great state seven times over the last several months, and although, Vice President Biden only made one trip to AZ, he outspent Trump nearly 2 to 1. Arizona’s heighten visibility nationally trickled down to our legislative races, with spending reaching nearly $20 million total. An outrageous spend, which Arizona has never seen before.
Arizona has enjoyed early voting since 1992, and although there was a national fear over “vote by mail” Arizona saw a record number of ballots cast early, with $2.5 million people returning their ballot before the polls opened today. Arizona, like the entire country, experienced high voter turnout and high voter engagement. This election is said to be the most consequential in a lifetime and although that seems to be said about every election, it certainly seems true by the sheer voter engagement in the process. President Trump and former Vice President Biden have certainly engaged their bases and the fight to the finish seems to be on the independent voter.
The sexiness of the national election will have the worlds attention, but we can not forget that most decisions that effect a persons everyday life are local. Heading into the 2020 election season Republicans had control of the Governor’s Office, State Senate and State House. Governor Doug Ducey is serving in his last term as Governor and is not on the ballot, and therefore a Republican will continue to sit at the helm of our state. The Republicans held a two seat lead in the Senate with 17 Republicans to 13 Democrats, and in the House they lead with 31 Republicans to 29 Democrats. As of this report, some of these races are yet be “called”. At the time of this there are still Arizona ballots that need to be counted. The last drop included in this report was 3:00AM, which moved Republicans ahead in many races. In the legislature the seats still in play in the House of Representatives are as follows 4, 6, 20 and 21 are all races we feel are still too close to call. In the Senate, districts 17 and 20 are still too close to call. Below is a comprehensive list of races from the Presidency on down to the State Legislature with a bit more explanation in the legislative districts races.
However, as it stands this morning, Republicans still have control of both the House and Senate. Although the Senate looks to have lost one seat. In the House, Democrats gained one seat but lost another, leaving Republicans with a one seat edge. This could change as the day goes on depending on how many ballots are left to be counted and who those votes were cast for.
An * indicates the incumbent.
