A Comprehensive Look at Arizona's Primary Races

Updated: Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010, 4:25 PM MDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010, 4:03 PM MDT

PHOENIX - It's Arizona primary day, and there's a lot going on. Voters will decide the fate of candidates for Senate, Congress, Governor, State Treasurer, County Attorney and Attorney General.

Republican nomination for Governor - Jan Brewer vs. Matthew Jette
Gov. Jan Brewer faces Matthew Jette, a little-known moderate for the Republican nomination for governor. Attorney General Terry Goddard was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Brewer saw her rise to fame when she signed the immigration law on April 23. She defended its provisions targeting illegal immigrants' presence in the state, while Goddard has said a more comprehensive approach should focus on targeting smuggling cartels.

The general election campaign is expected to increasingly focus on economic issues as the nominees talk about how they'd create more jobs. The recession has cratered the homebuilding industry and carved out huge holes in the state budget.

Yavapai County businessman Buz Mills in July suspended his mostly self-funded campaign for the Republican nomination after trailing in polls despite spending more than $3 million. However,
Mills didn't formally withdraw from the race.
State Treasurer Dean Martin formally withdrew from the race but it was too late for his name to be pulled from the ballot. Votes cast for him will be tablulated but won't count in official results.
Matthew Jette is a former pharmaceutical salesman now working as a part-time university instructor. Jette said Brewer's handling of the state's ongoing budget trouble has undercut the state's future and that her signing of the immigration law was shortsighted and divisive.
Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker and Tucson attorney John Munger withdrew earlier.
Arizona State Treasurer - Cherny, Verschooer, Leff, Carpenter and Ducey
Three current or former Arizona lawmakers, a former presidential adviser and a business executive are among the candidates in Tuesday's primary election for state treasurer.
The only Democrat running for the job of Arizona's chief financial officer is Andrei Cherny, a former assistant attorney general and adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.
Republican candidates include state Sens. Thayer Verschoor and Barbara Leff, former state Rep. Ted Carpenter and political newcomer Doug Ducey, who's the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery.
Ducey has been endorsed by current state Treasurer Dean Martin, who has held the office since 2006. Martin, a former Republican state senator, ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination this year but dropped out of the race in July.
Two others are write-in candidates -- Thane Eichenauer (Libertarian) and Thomas Meadows (Green Party).
Leff has served in the Legislature for 14 years and said she understands the proper role of the treasurer and has experience dealing with Arizona's budget.
Ducey, who is chief investor and chairman of a company that digitalizes home movies, said he can generate jobs for the state with his insight into business and entrepreneurs.
Cherny describes the treasurer as Arizona's chief economicofficer and has elaborate economic development plans if elected.
Carpenter promises more transparency in the job while Verschoor would run the office like a watchdog conservative.

Republican for U.S. Senate - John McCain vs. JD Hayworth
Arizona Sen. John McCain, once considered one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents, is now the clear front-runner against conservative challenger J.D. Hayworth.
Hayworth, a former congressman and talk-radio host, has given an alternative to conservatives frustrated with McCain's famous willingness to buck his party and work with Democrats on issues
like campaign finance, immigration and climate change.
But McCain, who has never lost an election in his home state, has fought hard to cut into Hayworth's credentials as a conservative outsider, spending $20 million on ads.
McCain tossed aside his self-described "maverick" label and adopted a hard-line stand on immigration just a few years afterworking with Democrats on a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. Hayworth has tried to keep the race focused on illegal immigration. He says McCain would support amnesty for illegal immigrants if re-elected -- a charge McCain denies.
Polls show McCain with a comfortable lead as high as 45 percentage points. McCain's running for a fifth term in the Senate.
Jim Deakin is also running with the support of the Tea Party.

Arizona Attorney General - Andrew Thomas vs. Tom Horne, Rotellini, Lujan and Rabago
Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas faces state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in the Republican primary.
Former state financial regulator Felecia Rotellini, state Rep. David Lujan and former state prosecutor Vince Rabago are vying to become the Democratic nominee.
The candidates in the race to replace Attorney General Terry Goddard pushed plans to confront Arizona's border woes, fight crime and protect
consumers. But the primary race was overshadowed by rancor, mostly between Thomas and Horne.
Thomas was Maricopa County's top prosecutor for more than five years before resigning this spring to run for attorney general. His tenure was marked by his efforts to confront illegal immigration, prosecute metro Phoenix's Baseline Killer and Serial Shooter cases and pursue criminal cases against county officials.
Horne, who is in his second term as the state's school chief, advocated for more accountability in the schools and pushed for a bill targeting a school district's ethnic studies program. He helped Republican legislative leaders in a legal and political dispute over Arizona's school programs for students learning English.
Rotellini worked as a white-collar prosecutor for the attorney general's office and later as Arizona's superintendent of financial institutions from 2006-2009. She pushed mandatory licensing for mortgage officers and won a settlement from a money transfer service on allegations that some of the company's outlets failed to comply with reporting laws intended to help combat money laundering and illegal immigration.
Lujan, who earlier in his career worked on education funding issues for the attorney general's office, is the top Democrat in the state House. He advocates for abused children in his current job as a lawyer for a group that protects kids.
Rabago worked as a criminal prosecutor and consumer protection attorney for the attorney general's office for more than seven years and touts his experience of growing up in the border city of Douglas as useful in confronting the state's border issues.
Arizona Congress - 3rd and 5th Districts the Races to Watch
The most high-profile race out of Arizona's 8 congressional districts is for the potential successor for
retiring Republican John Shadegg in the 3rd District , which has drawn 10 Republican primary candidates. Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, and Steve Moak, a wealthy businessman, have spent the most money. The crowded field also includes three former state lawmakers and the mayor of Paradise Valley. Phoenix lawyer and businessman Jon Hulburd is the only Democrat running.
Quayle had spent more than $900,000 as of Aug. 4 to try to win the seat, and has since gone on a television ad blitz. But he also stumbled when he was linked as a contributor to a racy website.
Moak has also poured money into the race, but many look down-ticket for a possible winner from among the former lawmakers, who include former state Sens. Pamela Gorman of Anthem and Jim Waring of Phoenix, and former state Rep. Sam Crump of Anthem.
The 1st, 5th and 8th districts are currently held by Democrats who are considered vulnerable. That's drawn a field of 18 Republicans vying for the chance to take them on.
In the 5th District, which takes in communities east and northeast of Phoenix from Tempe and Scottsdale to Camp Creek, Democrat Harry Mitchell is seeking a third term in office. Six Republicans are running for the chance to face him in November, along with two third-party candidates.
Maricopa County Attorney - Rick Romley vs. Bill Montgomery
When Andrew Thomas stepped down to run for Attorney General, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Rick Romley to continue in his place as the interim County Attorney.
Now, he and Bill Montgomery are vying for the spot. Sheriff Joe Arpaio has butted heads over immigration policy with Rick Romley, a former county attorney, and in political ads he's been very vocal in his opposition of Romley. The influential sheriff has thrown his support behind Montgomery, who'd worked for Romley in the county attorney's office for 7 years.
Montgomery is a graduate of West Point; he served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, a Captain in the army. He received his law degree from Arizona State University.
Romley is vying for a second stint as county attorney. He served in the office for 16 years from 1989 to 2004, and is a decorated Vietnam war veteran.
How the race shapes up will go to show how much weight Sheriff Joe's endorsement -- or lack thereof -- carries.

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