Opinion: Kate Brophy McGee’s (early) entrance into the District 3 race could be an important litmus test for the Republican Party || AZBIO
Abe Kwok
Arizona Republic
One of the heartening developments out of county supervisor Bill Gates’ impending departure is the announcement this week that longtime state legislator Kate Brophy McGee will seek his seat.
Brophy McGee is one of those rare politicians anymore who labored to enact policy regardless of party labels.
That is to say, she’s a moderate, though she might bristle at the belief some hold that moderates would compromise values just to get things done.
Her (early) entrance into the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors District 3 race is most welcome.
It’ll also serve as a litmus test on the power of the extreme wing of the Republican Party.
Can Brophy McGee win in a GOP district?
How Brophy McGee fares in the GOP primary — a classic Republican with a long track record in a Republican district — will be instructive.
So far, only one other Republican — Tabatha Lavoie — has said she would run for the seat.
Brophy McGee is known as a conscientious, no-drama lawmaker who works at consensus building. Brophy McGee was one of two key lawmakers who shepherded the extension in 2018 of Proposition 301, a six-tenths of a percent sales tax to fund education.
(That she credits her counterpart in the House, Doug Coleman, to this day is also telling about how she works.)
