AZ Polling is in!

OK.  Only for R primary races.  And then only for statewide offices.

From KPNX, written by Brahm Resnik, dated 7/9 -

Andy Biggs dominates, Tom Horne trails in new poll of Arizona GOP primaries

Just 12 days before Arizona’s primary election, a new poll shows the Republican statewide races falling into three categories: one clear winner, three clear front-runners and one competitive race that could end School Superintendent Tom Horne’s political career.

The flash poll, by Arizona-based NextGen Polling, surveyed 1,707 high-frequency Republican primary voters who have cast a ballot in three or four of the last four elections. The poll, done July 8 and 9, has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. 

[snip] {Governor}

East Valley Congressman Andy Biggs has built an insurmountable polling lead over fellow Congressman David Schweikert of Fountain Hills. Biggs was supported by 66.1% of respondents vs 10.4% for Schweikert. Schweikert is losing his own 1st Congressional District by 41 points, 56.2% to 14.8%, according to the poll.

[snip] {SOS}

In the primary to serve as Arizona’s chief elections officer,  State Rep. Alexander Kolodin of Scottsdale has a 24-point lead over former Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda. Kolodin is up 44% to 20%, with 36% of respondents undecided.

[snip] {AG}

Senate President Warren Petersen of Gilbert leads lawyer Rodney Glassman of Phoenix by 15 points, 43% to 28%, with about 29% of respondents undecided.

[snip] {SPI}

In the most competitive statewide primary, incumbent Tom Horne finds himself trailing State Treasurer Kimberly Yee by 8 points, according to the NextGen poll. Yee leads Horne by 44% to 36%, with 20 percent of respondents undecided. 

[snip] {Treasurer}

Elijah Norton, CEO of a company that sells extended vehicle warranties, leads State Board of Education Chair Katherine Haley 43% to 20%, according to the poll. 

NextGen Polling took a poll in June; ad that one shows that the leaders in the races widening their leads in July over what they had June.  With one exception.

Gov. - Biggs 57%, Schweikert 11%

AG - Petersen 26%, Glassman 11%

SOS - Kolodin 16%,, Swoboda 11%

Treasurer - Norton 15%, Haley 12%

SPI - Horne 33%, Yee 24%

No real surprises here, though  I hoped that they would cover legislative races (including Democratic primaries) and the CorpComm race.

At this point, there's only one primary poll left, and it's the only one that counts.

Gina Swoboda, former chair of the AZGOP, causes tumult in not one, but *two* races

...and she did that by switching the office that she's seeking.

Note: I received a head's up on this from watching AZ Family's Politics Unplugged (YouTube link)

She WAS a candidate in Congressional District 1 (CD1), one of the many people looking to replace David Schweikert, who's running for Governor this year.

For a long time, she and Joe Chaplik, a Republican state legislator from that area, were the biggest "names" in R primary in CD1.

Then former NFL placekicker Jay Feely went district shopping and jumped out of the CD5 contest, vying to replace Andy Biggs (like Schweikert, he's also running for Governor) and jumped into the CD1 contest.

So Swoboda looked at the race for Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS).

By filing a statement of interest, she can collect nominating signatures.

While the panelists on Politics Unplugged weren't sure she that she actually intends to enter the AZSOS race, but I think she does - she formed a committee for a run, so she can spend money in order to campaign for the office.

She does have one major problem - nominating sigs.  The signatures needed in order to run for for a statewide office (as AZSOS is) are significantly higher than they are for a CD, and the ones she has collect so far cannot be transferred.

From the sig requirements page -

She has approximately seven weeks to collect almost 7600 sigs (they're due by 3/23), and that will get her to just the minimum number required.  It won't be easy.

And if she turns in just the minimum, that will almost certainly result in one of the other AZSOS candidates filing a challenge.

My guesstimate is that she will need to submit nearly 11K sigs in order to withstand any challenges.

Is the popcorn concession at the office of the Arizona Secretary of State available?  😃

Horse Race time - Chaplik is in the AZCD1 race

News broke this week that Republican state representative Joe Chaplik (LD3) has entered the race the outgoing member of Congress in CD1, David Schweikert.  

Schweikert is running for governor of Arizona.

The person most hurt by his entry into the CD1 race may be Gina Swoboda.  She's the current chair of the AZGOP, and prior to Chaplik's entry, the biggest "name" in the race (quotes used because while they have more notoriety/name recognition than the other candidates, it's limited [not everyone is a political geek like me and know who major party chairs and members of the state legislature are])

The person most helped by his entry into the CD1 race may be one of those low name rec candidates.  If Swoboda and Chaplik spend the primary season launching political haymakers at each other, it may open up a path to victory in that race for one the others.

Also, while nominating signatures are due to be submitted by April 6, 2026, it's still early enough for a well-funded "big name" to enter the race.

Currently 12 Democrats and 10 Republicans have filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) in the race (filed with the Arizona Secretary of State)and/or formed a committee for run with the FEC (one Libertarian has an open committee, but is was formed in 2024 and has been receiving letters about a failure to file reports, so that person may not be running this year).

Below is a list of folks who have filed an SOI and/or formed a committee for a run next year.  In the date section, if no year is specified, the year is 2025.  Also, one date format is month (as text) followed by date.  That's because my spreadsheet program kept changing 3/4 to a fraction.

The vast majority of potential D candidates here filed their paperwork before Scheikert exited the race; the vast majority of Rs did so after.

Not all people who express interest/form a committee will be on a ballot.

I'm not going make any prediction regarding the outcome of race for the R nomination here - my prognosticating ability in R races is almost nonexistent.

As for the D race, no prediction until I see who's actually going to be on the ballot.

Caveat: CD1 in my district.

That sound you hear is shoes dropping in multiple CDs

...Expect more "names" to enter these races (and more)...

- the former sheriff of Pinal County, Mark Lamb, has filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) with the AZSOS for a run at replacing Andy Biggs in CD5.

...as was widely expected, the current chair of the AZGOP, Gina Swoboda has throw her hat in the CD1 race to replace David Schweikert - she's formed a committee with the FEC -

Both Biggs and Schweikert are running for AZ Governor.

Arizona Mirror has stories up on Lamb and Swoboda.

A couple of new names in election races in AZ

One's not a surprise at all and one is a bit of surprise.

First up: the one that isn't a surprise.

From AZPM, written by Christopher Conover -

Adelita Grijalva enters CD 7 race

Adelita Grijalva announced Monday morning that she is entering the race to take her late father's place in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Grijalva has followed in her father's footsteps, serving on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

In a written statement, she said," I've spent my life as an advocate, fighting for the brighter future we all deserve."

As for the one that's a bit of a surprise:

From the statements of interest filed with the AZ Secretary of State -

From KJZZ, written by Camryn Sanchez -

Far-right candidate Rep. Alexander Kolodin joins 2026 Arizona secretary of state race

Far-right state Rep. Alexander Kolodin is challenging Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in 2026.

The Scottsdale Republican began his campaign on Monday dodging questions about his history of claiming elections aren’t safe.

As of this writing, neither the FEC (in Grijalva's case) nor the AZ Secretary of State (in Kolodin's case) lists a campaign committee for either one one their respective websites.

In Grijalva's case, her entry into the Congressional race was long rumored; as for Kolodin, that was a bit of a surprise - the far right Freedom Caucus, of which Kolodin is a member, absolutely *hates* the current AZSOS, Adrian Fontes. and Kolodin wanted to be the first big name into the race.

My guess: he won't be the last.  The KJZZ story goes on to talk about how Gina Swoboda, the current chair of the AZGOP, is looking at the race, too.