These races could begin to loosen the far right's grip on the Arizona Legislature

Arizona legislators, having accomplished not much of anything thus far this year, take a break this week so they can hit the campaign trail to tell us why they should be reelected.

No, really.

All eyes now turn to the coming mud bath this fall, an epic battle for control of the Arizona Legislature where Republicans now cling to a one-vote majority in each chamber.

But first, there is the July 30 primary, where select Republicans will battle Republicans.

Where voters could — could -— take the first steps to at least loosen the iron grip of the ultra-right MAGA crowd that now runs the Legislature.

OK, quit laughing. It could happen.

Will primary voters boot the MAGA crowd?

By my count, at least a third of the hard right Arizona Freedom Caucus — it’s hard to be precise given the secrecy surrounding this club — already won’t be returning to the Legislature next year.

Meanwhile, here are three Republican Senate primary races where old school meets MAGA. These races are well worth watching:

Legislative District 1

Sen. Ken Bennett vs. former Rep. Mark Finchem: Bennett, a traditional business conservative who has served both as Senate president and secretary of state, has singlehandedly stopped several bad bills coming out of this Legislature this year — most recently his vote against a return to precinct balloting.

That’s made him Public Enemy No. 1 with the far right. (Well, Public Enemy No. 2. Gov. Katie Hobbs will always be No. 1.)

Look for the Freedom folk, and likely Trump, to back Finchem, who continues to spout fantastical tales about stolen elections.

After losing the 2022 secretary of state’s race, Finchem toyed with the idea of running for Maricopa County recorder before deciding that he wants back into the Legislature.

Instead of running on his own home turf in Pima County, he moved to Prescott, apparently believing the fine citizens of ruby red Yavapai County are in dire need of his services as their state senator.

Bennett should have the edge in this race, having lived and worked in Prescott for decades.

He also has a secret weapon: Steve Zipperman.

Zipperman lost a close race to Bennett in 2022. This year, he’s running again and will have to share the hard-core conspiracy vote with Finchem.

Advantage: Bennett.

Legislative District 7

Sen. Wendy Rogers v. Rep. David Cook: The term-limited Cook has set his eyes on moving over to the Senate. But first he’s got to figure out a way to defeat the district’s incumbent senator.

Rogers was that perennial politician who never won anything until 2020, when she moved from her Tempe home into a Flagstaff trailer and spent a bucket of money to knock off then-Sen. Sylvia Allen.

Since then she’s has become a rock star in far-right GOP circles, never mind her seeming affinity for palling around with people who spout white nationalist and antisemitic nonsense. She’s huge on the election denial circuit, hyping various conspiracy theories to raise a mountain of campaign cash.

Two years ago, the Senate censured her for inciting violence at a white nationalist conference and conduct unbecoming a senator. She won reelection anyway.

It’s questionable whether she even lives in this sprawling rural Arizona district, but Rogers will be hard to beat.

Cook, meanwhile, is a conservative Republican who lives and runs a cattle ranch in the district. He’s represented much of this district for years, until it was redrawn in 2021 to include Rogers’ Flagstaff trailer park.

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Cook, R-Globe, is that rare legislator who declines to march in lock step with the Freedom Caucus. He played a key role last year in putting the extension of Maricopa County’s transportation sales tax on the ballot this fall, dealing a major defeat to the Freedom Caucus.

Advantage: Rogers, but only because she’s the master when it comes the fine art of the election grift.

Legislative District 17

Sen. Justine Wadsack v. former Sen. Vince Leach: In 2022, Wadsack moved out of her family home in central Tucson, renting a room in a safe Republican district in northern Pima County where she proceeded to knock off the incumbent, Leach.

She’s a member of the Freedom Caucus, one of a bumper crop of culture warriors sent to the Capitol to wage war on all things “woke.”

She quickly became a standout, posing in front of the Capitol with her trusty AR-15-style rifle — in high heels, no less — and liking social media posts suggesting 9/11 was a government conspiracy.

Leach, meanwhile, is old school — a conservative who wants his old job back. The business community is likely to support him. But Wadsack is MAGA, and that’s still a powerful brand in a GOP primary.

Whether Wadsack could win reelection in November is another question. In 2022, she beat her Democratic opponent with just 51.2% of the vote in a district that favors Republicans by 10%.

Advantage: Leach. This one’s going to be a dogfight.

Reach Roberts at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts or on Threads at laurierobertsaz.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Arizona voters can loosen MAGA's grip on the Legislature