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By Paul Maryniak || East Valley Tribune
The Nov. 8 General Election for the three legislative seats representing northern and western Chandler also will a battle of the sexes of sorts as an all-male Republican slate of candidates vies with three Democratic women.
The Arizona Secretary of State is scheduled to canvass the statewide election Monday, Aug. 22, and while a razor-thin margin separates the two Ahwatukee residents battling for the Republican Senate seat nomination, a recount apparently is not in the cards.
Unofficial results show David Richardson won the primary by only 170 votes over Realtor Suzanne Sharer, who in 2020 was defeated in the General Election for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Sean Bowie.
Bowie opted not to run for another term.
Unofficial results showed Richardson with 50.3% of the vote, or 12,248, to Sharer’s 49.7%, or 12,078 votes. On the night of the election, Richardson held a 10 percentage point lead.
Megan Gilbertson, elections department spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Recorder, said the current margin between Richardson and Sharer is not sufficient for a recount.
It would have to be fewer than 50 votes for that, she said.
Democrats Patty Contreras and Stacey Travers jumped to an early lead on Aug. 2 in the five-way Democratic fight for the two House nominations,
Richardson apparently will now go on to face businesswoman and state Rep. Mitzi Epstein of Tempe.
Epstein aims to jump from the House to the Senate in the vacuum created by Bowie’s decision not to seek a fourth term.
Contreras, a retired program manager for the City of Phoenix parks and human services departments, and Travers, a scientist, each maintained a 27% vote share of the total votes among all five hopefuls in the Democratic House primary.
