“I believe she splits the vote,” Martin said of Townsend. “I think she plays more to the Trump crowd, if you will. We both operate in that area.”
That could potentially benefit Ciscomani, a longtime top aide to Gov. Doug Ducey who is closely connected to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The other GOP candidates running in the district are Jason Bacon, Lucretia Free, Young Mayberry and Kathleen Winn.
On the Democratic side, the candidates now in the race are former state Sen. Kirsten Engel, state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, and Marcos Urrea. Former state Rep. Randy Friese dropped out of the race in September. Martin said he viewed Friese as the toughest Democrat for a Republican to face.
Steele leaving
the Legislature
State Sen. Victoria Steele announced this week that she will not run for election to the Legislature again.
Instead, Steele said, she is planning to run for justice of the peace in Precinct 1. That seat is currently held by Justice of the Peace Adam Watters, a Republican. Steele is a Democrat.
Steele represented Legislative District 9 as a member of the House beginning in 2012 and the Senate beginning in 2018. The new legislative districts have not been formally confirmed yet, but redistricting has placed Steele in the new LD18. That’s a heavily Democratic district that includes much of the Catalina Foothills and midtown Tucson.
