Opinion: There will be plenty of attention on the U.S. Senate in Arizona, but a slew of down-ballot races also are crucially important in 2024.
Editorial boardArizona Republic
The 2024 election is shaping up to be a pivotal one, and not just because voters will choose the next president.
While the battle for U.S. Senate will get the most attention, there are plenty of other races down the ballot that could change the political headwinds in Arizona.
Here are just a few to watch:
U.S. Senate
Essentially, there will be no primary election. Kari Lake has already looked past her GOP primary opponent Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and is attacking Democrat Ruben Gallego. Gallego is punching back.
Because Democrats and Gallego are vulnerable to border chaos, expect him to press hard against Lake’s populist extremism and abortion abolitionism, using the same playbook that Gov. Katie Hobbs used to beat her.
Democrats can no longer ignore the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. Heading into 2024 it plays to Lake’s “build the wall” politics. Incumbent Kyrsten Sinema, who hasn’t formally entered the race as an independent, is pushing bipartisan reforms to the asylum system.
If Sinema runs, she’ll run against our hyper-polarized culture to try to steal votes from both parties and win independents.
U.S. Congress
DISTRICT 1
Republican David Schweikert has been tagged by The Cook Political Report and National Journal as one of the nation’s most vulnerable incumbents. Name players in the Democratic Party are out to chase him down in this Scottsdale-centric district, including former Arizona party chairman Andrei Cherny, former TV anchorwoman Marlene Galán-Woods and state Rep. Amish Shah.
