LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Today is the last day of voting in Arizona's primary.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
How is the stage being set for some of the swing states' big races in the fall?
FADEL: Joining us now is Camryn Sanchez with member station KJZZ in Phoenix to talk about this. Good morning, Camryn.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So you spent a lot of time talking to voters. What stands out as the main things that they're thinking about?
SANCHEZ: Well, for Democrats, we've heard a lot about opposition to President Trump. And some voters do relate that to the cost of living. I spoke with Dorothy Garcia (ph) at her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, while I was tagging along with a Democratic candidate.
DOROTHY GARCIA: Medical, schools, taxes, the water bill, the light bill, electricity. Things like that, yeah. The richer you are, the more you get. The poorer you are, the less you get.
SANCHEZ: For some Republicans, I do think the border - and since we're a border state - and immigration still remains a top issue. But there is concern that if Democrats win Congress, they'll allow too much immigration, in their view.
FADEL: Maybe the most competitive primaries there are for a House seat. It's a toss-up seat that Democrats hope to flip in their effort to take control of the House. Who's running there?
SANCHEZ: Right. This is a Phoenix metro area district which is currently represented by a Republican Congressman, David Schweikert. But he's running for governor, leaving an opening. So the front-runners on the Democrats are former state legislator Amish Shah and former broadcaster Marlene Galan Woods. She's a former Republican who switched parties years ago. So both candidates say they can get the support of independent voters, and they both tried to beat Schweikert before.
Two years ago, Shah beat Galan Woods and others in the primary race but lost to Schweikert in the general election. But this year, Galan Woods has the backing of the Democratic congressional campaign committee. And then on the Republican side, we got former NFL kicker Jay Feely. He's a lot of name ID and Trump endorsement. But his opponent is a little further to the right. He's Joseph Chaplik, who was a member of the Freedom Caucus when he was a state legislator.
FADEL: Turning to the race for governor, the incumbent is Democrat Katie Hobbs. Our listeners might remember she barely beat Republican Kari Lake in 2022. Who are her potential opponents this time?
SANCHEZ: Two congressmen, Andy Biggs and David Schweikert. Biggs is seen as the front-runner in this race. He's got Trump's endorsement and the backing of Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. And Biggs has been a Trump loyalist for a long time and voted against certifying the state's election results in 2020. This go around, Biggs is definitely leaning away from a far-right image and pitching himself as someone who can work across the aisle. Schweikert comes from that toss-up district where he does have experience appealing to independents.
FADEL: What other races or trends will you be watching for?
SANCHEZ: The Arizona secretary of state's race is one to watch because it highlights trends in Arizona politics, like election security and the influence of Turning Point. In the Republican primary, we have a state lawmaker, Alexander Kolodin, who's a member of the legislature's far-right Freedom Caucus. And he's an attorney who participated in multiple lawsuits to try to throw out election results in 2020 and 2022.
And his opponent, Gina Swoboda, had Trump's endorsement when she became chair of the state party. And there are MAGA entities who like her, but she's never outright claimed elections are stolen. That's an opportunity to see Republican voters' views on election denialism in 2026. The Republican primary winner will face incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes in the fall.
FADEL: That's Camryn Sanchez of KJZZ. Thank you so much for your reporting.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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