Legislative conservatives came on strong in Tuesday’s GOP primaries
September 3rd, 2008, 9:05 am · Post a Comment · posted by Le Templar
Russell Pearce’s big victory in Tuesday’s state primaries was the most prominent example of a clear trend: modern conservatives still dominate the Arizona Republican Party. Other examples of this trend include Yavapai County rancher Steve Pierce upsetting Sen. Tom O’Halleran in legislative District 1 across northern Arizona, Sen. Jack Harper picking up an overwhelming win in the West Valley’s District 4 and Al Melvin defeating veteran Rep. Pete Hershberger for the open Senate seat in District 26 of north Tucson.
Other hints in this trend include Rep. John McComish’s struggle to keep his seat in District 20 (Ahwatukee Foothills, south Tempe and west Chandler) against Jeff Dial and Frank Schmuck; and David Gowan being the top vote-getter among Republicans in the House race for Tucson’s District 30.
Nearly all of these races had featured aggressive primary races and spending by outside groups against the candidate perceived by some as too conservative, which translates as too harsh on state immigration enforcement or too stingy with state tax dollars or too strident on social issues such gay marriage. Time and again, Republican voters who turned out Tuesday rejected calls for a change in direction of the GOP and embraced candidates who would keep the party platform firmly to the right.
Of course, Democrats are hoping to have some say over whether a number of these candidates actually wind up in power next year. For example, Melvin was the Republican nominee for the Senate in District 26 in 2006, but he was defeated by Charlene Pesquiera, a Democrat who didn’t even expect to be elected and decided to serve only one term.
But for the most part, the Republican candidates mentioned here come from legislative districts that have been reliably in their party’s camp. So it looks like the Arizona Republican Party will continue on its present course. The question is how well voters embrace that path in contested races during the Nov. 4 general election.
