While the presidential contest is the focus of every quadrennial election, the down-ballot races arguably have more impact on our local lives than who inhabits the White House.
This year is a special election for the final two years of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain’s six-year term. McCain was re-elected in 2016, then died in August 2018. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed retired U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl to McCain’s seat. Kyl only served for three months before vacating the seat in December 2018 to recently defeated Martha McSally, who had lost a race to U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema a month earlier.
As an appointee, McSally was permitted serve two years before facing a special election this year. She is now running against Mark Kelly. The winner of the seat will serve two years until the regular election in 2022. Sinema is up for election in 2024.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran [D-District 1], whose district covers Sedona, Camp Verde, Flagstaff and northeastern Arizona is facing challenger Tiffany Shedd, while U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar [R-District 4], who represents Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Cornville, Prescott and northwestern Arizona, is facing Delina DiSanto.
None of Arizona’s statewide seats are up for election this cycle. The four-year seats are up for election in off years from the presidential race.
Except for several hundred voters southeast of the Verde Villages and outside Jerome, the Verde Valley is in Legislative District 6. State legislatures make most of the decisions that affect our daily lives as Arizona residents.
There are 30 districts in Arizona, each represented by one senator and two representatives. Our District 6 senator, Sylvia Allen, was defeated in her primary election, leaving two candidates vying for the open seat: Democrat Felicia French and Republican Wendy Rogers.
On the house side, voters can elect two representatives. Incumbent Republican Walt Blackman is running for his second term. Coral Evans, the current mayor of Flagstaff, is running as a Democrat, while Art Babbott, a former Flagstaff city councilman and current Coconino County supervisor, is running as an independent. Republican Brenda Barton, a former representative who was term-limited in 2018 and tried running against Allen before her name was removed for insufficient signatures, is vying for her old seat.
The other incumbent, Republican Bob Thorpe, made an ill-advised effort to challenge Allen for her senate seat this cycle, couldn’t pull enough support and withdrew from that race, effectively surrendering his house seat in the process. Thorpe has been less than honest with voters in the district and residents of the Verde Valley, so his absence is no great loss. He is now running for a Coconino County supervisor seat in District 4, which does not cover the Verde Valley.
Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Randy Garrison, a Republican, is running for re-election against Democrat Donna Michaels. On the Coconino County side of Sedona, District 3 Supervisor Matt Ryan is facing Republican challenger Byron Peterson.
All the town and city council elections in the Verde Valley were decided in August.
While the deadline to register to vote was Monday, Oct. 5, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, issued a ruling late Monday extending the deadline to Friday, Oct. 23, citing difficulties posed by COVID-19 preventing groups from registering new voters.
Ducey, a Republican, and Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who runs the state elections department, both opposed the extension. Hobbs issued a statement after the ruling stating she would not appeal. However, both the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. It’s not clear how the appeals court might rule nor, if the court should overturn Logan, whether it would allow these newly filed voter registrations to stand or throw them out.
In any event, if you were not able to register by Oct. 5 and still want to vote in this election, contact the Yavapai County or Coconino County elections departments immediately. The state website servicearizona.com has not been updated to reflect Logan’s decision.
You can drop off early ballots or vote in person early or wait until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
