Is "slow walk" on the exercise list for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors? If so, they're about to get very fit

 First, the caveats about some of the folks mentioned in this post:

Future Rep, Jevin Hodge ran for Congress in 2022 and I contributed to that campaign.

Former Rep. Jennifer Longdon is someone I've voted for and I contributed to her reelection campaign.

Former Rep. Amish Shah is someone I've voted for and I signed his nominating petition a few cycles ago.

Former State Rep. Athena Salman resigned on 1/1.  The MCBOS finally appointed Jevin Hodge to fill her seat yesterday.  LD8 is still down a rep though - he won't be sworn in until tomorrow.

Of course, LD8 has more representation than LD5.  Both reps from LD5, Jennifer Longdon and Amish Shah have resigned.

LD5 will be completely without any representation in the AZ House until the MCBOS gets around to doing its job.  I don't recommend that anyone hold their breath while waiting for that to happen.

Salman and Longdon have left the legislature to pursue other opportunities while Shah doing something similar - he resigned in order to focus on a run for Congress.

On the other hand, former Rep. Leezah Sun of LD22 was in a "resign or get expelled" situation.

So, she left on her own.

I wish them all well in their future endeavors, even Sun.

Though the people of their districts shouldn't expect them to be replaced soon.

Hope David Schweikert (R-Ethics Issues) isn't claustrophobic

'Cuz the field to unseat him is a crowded one.

There's a new entrant on the Democratic side of race - 

Ireland-born Wall Street guy Conor O'Callaghan.  Long-time Democratic activist Jeanne Lunn will serve as his committee's treasurer.

As of right now, Democrats O'Callaghan, Kurt Kroemer, Marlene Galan-Woods, Andrei Cherny, Amish Shah, and Andrew Horne are running for Schweikert's seat and I expect that they won't be the only entrants in the Democratic primary.

A list of statements of interest filed with the Arizona Secretary of State is here.

Plus, I expect that Schweikert will be challenged in the primary, from his party's right wing.

While, like most R electeds, he has ethics "issues," he doesn't seem to be quite as bigoted as fellow R Paul Gosar.

Caveat1 - This is my district now, but I have *not* decided who to vote for, and I won't make that decision until I have a ballot in hand.

Caveat2 - Forming a committee or filing a statement is no guarantee that someone will be on a ballot, nor is such required before being on a ballot.

The CD1 candidate field is getting crowded

Kurt Kroemer, an experienced exec for non-profits, has formed a committee in the D race to unseat the vulnerable R David Schweikert.

Kroemer has already started his campaign - he sent out a mass text on Wednesday.

He joins Amish Shah, a doctor and member of the Arizona Legislature, and Andrei Cherny, a former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, in the race.  

They may be the earliest entrants, but I don't expect them to be the last ones.

Disclosure time: While I haven't made a decision as yet, because of a move, I now live in CD1 and will be voting in this primary.

Well, we have the first official Democratic primary for Congress. Actually, we have two.

And it's still early.

On 4/4, Phoenix City Council member Yassamin Ansari formed a committee for a run at replacing Senate candidate Ruben Gallego (D) in CD3.

On 4/5, State Senator and former chair of the AZ Democratic Party (ADP), Raquel Teran formed one for a run at the same seat.

It's widely expected that Laura Pastor will jump into the race, too.

On 4/6, a name who's a bit of blast from the past, former ADP chair and 2012 candidate for Congress, Andrei Cherny formed a committee for a run at the CD1 seat held by ethically challenged R David Schweikert.  He joins current State Rep. and doctor. Amish Shah in the race.

I do expect there to be Democratic primaries in R held districts CD2 (Northern AZ) and CD6 (in Southern AZ), so 2024 should be a popcorn-riffic year.

And I haven't even discussed the many Rs who will run for the U.S. Senate, none of whom has formed a committee as yet.

State Rep. Amish Shah files for a run for Congress

Dr. Amish Shah, a Democratic State Representative from LD5 has formed a committee with the FEC for a candidacy for Congress.

He's not running for Ruben Gallego's soon-to-be vacant seat, but is challenging the unethical David Schweikert instead.  In 2022, Schweikert won re-election by a little over 3K votes over Jevin Hodge, a Democrat with lots of energy but almost no name recognition.  He's vulnerable.

The treasurer for the committee is Heather Mrowiec.

The form filed with the FEC is here.