After Aug. 2, nearly half of the 90 seats in the Legislature will be decided, and by November, only 11 seats are likely to feature competitive races.
By Ray Stern | Arizona Republic
At the Roadhouse bar in Cave Creek last month, a small crowd of conservatives spent the evening contemplating Arizona’s political future. As voters interested in the Aug. 2 primary election, some of them will help decide it.
Fifty or so people sat around tables at the biker-themed bar, listening to four Republicans who were running for two state House seats in the new Legislative District 3. Most were middle-aged and white, with many decked out in patriotic gear; one observer wore a shirt that read “Ultra MAGA.”
It’s a firmly Republican district that takes in north Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, Anthem and New River, and Democrats fielded no candidates for the House. The winners of the Republican primary in the district will take the two seats in the Legislature.
The candidates in Legislative District 3 also represent the type of choices GOP voters will have across the state, from moderate to the far right.
The race exemplifies the importance of primary elections in Arizona: After Aug. 2, nearly half of the 90 total seats in the House and Senate will be locked up, and by November, only 11 seats are likely to feature truly competitive races between Republicans and Democrats.
Appearing at the June 15 Roadhouse event, put on by the North Valley Young Republicans, was incumbent Joseph Chaplik, a self-described “conservative warrior” who was among the signers of a letter asking Vice President Mike Pence to deem Trump the winner of the 2020 election.
