07/22/2026
🏜️ As of early this morning, Arizona's primaries are in! 🗳️
While there weren't any seismic shifts, a few trends stand out:
First, Trump's influence inside the GOP still looms large.
His endorsed candidates won several of the state's biggest Republican primaries, including Andy Biggs for governor and Jay Feely in the open AZ-1 House race.
Second, Democrats mostly avoided major statewide drama, but not entirely.
In Arizona's open 1st Congressional District, the establishment-backed candidate fell to former state Rep. Amish Shah, showing Democratic primary voters continue a broader trend of voting more anti-establishment.
Third, Republicans largely chose candidates aligned with the party's conservative base rater than moderates.
That could energize R turnout in November, but it also could hinder them in competitive statewide and suburban races where independents are often the deciding factor.
Fourth, Arizona continues to be one of the country's biggest battlegrounds.
The governor's race, multiple House seats, and control of Congress could all be shaped by what happens here in November!
Bottom line is:
The AZ primaries reinforced a familiar pattern of R primary voters rewarding Trump-backed & conservative candidates, and D primary voters continuing an anti-establishment streak.
Arizona is once again shaping up to be one of the nation's political proving grounds these midterms 🗳️
