By Nicole Ludden | Arizona Agenda
Before the partisan battles take over in November, Arizona’s midterm hopefuls are delivering plenty of intraparty drama.
This primary season has already produced cease-and-desist letters, white-supremacy allegations and even open calls for attack ads against primary competitors.
And that’s just the statewide and federal races on Arizona’s primary ballot.
There’s a lot more drama unfolding at the state Legislature, where Republicans are trying to protect their majorities, and Democrats say this is the year they’ll finally take control.
Legislative candidates have been busy digging up opposition research before early ballots go out on June 24 — dragging each other online, and for some, on the debate stage.
Much of that fighting is playing out in state Senate primaries, where there’s only one seat to fill and no room to hide behind a two-person House slate.
Here’s a look at some of the messiest legislative primaries so far.
LD3 Senate GOP: John Kavanagh vs. Robert Wallace
Sen. John Kavanagh has a theory for why he finally drew a primary challenger in his deep red district: He arrested the guy in a past life, when his challenger was a “reincarnated Black gang banger,” the longtime lawmaker speculated at last week’s debate.
