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Election 2024

Arizona race for US Senate seat features highly watched battles

Posted 4/17/24

The race for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona will be one of the most highly watched matches of the 2024 election cycle nationwide.

Looking to replace outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, …

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Election 2024

Arizona race for US Senate seat features highly watched battles

Posted

The race for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona will be one of the most highly watched matches of the 2024 election cycle nationwide.

Looking to replace outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, six people have made the primary ballot in three parties. Ruben Gallego, the Democratic congressman running for the seat, will face no primary competition, while three people — Kari Lake, Mark Lamb and Elizabeth Reye — will battle for the Republican nomination, and two more will seek the Green Party nomination.

Ruben Gallego

Ruben Gallego
Ruben Gallego

Ruben Gallego currently serves in the U.S. Congress representing Arizona’s 3rd District. He was elected to the seat in 2014.

A Democrat, Gallego served in the Arizona House of Representatives prior to being elected to Congress.

Originally from Chicago, Gallego graduated from Harvard University with a degree in international relations before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. He served a tour of duty in Iraq during 2005.

Following his military service, Gallego was motivated to get involved in politics to help fellow veterans. He served as chief of staff for Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakaowski and was vice chair of the

Arizona Democratic Party before running for office.

Gallego has a list of policy positions he is looking at, from running as a pro-choice candidate on abortion rights to bringing more jobs to Arizona while protecting the state’s public lands and natural resources.

Arturo Hernandez

Arturo Hernandez does not have information available online about his candidacy. Forms filed with the Federal Election Commission indicate he is a Yuma resident running for the nomination of the Green Party.

The Arizona Green Party has said Hernandez has not been a part of the local party up to this point.

Kari Lake

Kari Lake
Kari Lake

Kari Lake, a Republican, was a longtime television news anchor on Fox10 in Phoenix before she sought and won the Republican nomination for governor in 2022. Lake eventually lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Lake grew up in Iowa as the daughter of a teacher and a nurse along with eight siblings and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Iowa. She spent 27 years in media, with more than 20 of that in Phoenix.

Lake spent much of the time following the 2022 election contesting results and questioning the accuracy of the state’s election.

Her issues include securing the U.S. border, cutting inflation and reducing the deficit, tackling water issues in the West and running as a pro-life candidate.

Mark Lamb

Mark Lamb

Mark Lamb

Mark Lamb has a history in law enforcement, currently serving as Pinal County Sheriff, an office to which the Republican candidate for Senate was elected in 2016.

Lamb was born in Hawaii, and his family spent time living in the Philippines and Panama before moving back to Arizona where he graduated from high school in Chandler.

After serving a church mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lamb moved back to Arizona with his wife and the couple had five children. He started as a small business owner before deciding to run for office.

Lamb’s law enforcement career began with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community where he rose through the ranks to become a detective.

In terms of issues, Lamb is focused on securing the border, combating cartels, running as a pro-life candidate and protecting Second Amendment rights.

Michael Norton

Michael Norton
Michael Norton

Michael Norton, who is running as a Green Party candidate, is the executive director of the Athena Foundation in Scottsdale and has served in business for more than 20 years in roles that include senior executive, CEO and legal counsel in the transportation industry.

Norton is a graduate of the University of Utah College of Law and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University.

He has been involved in the community, particularly in the Scottsdale Unified School District where he served on the budget committee, bond oversight committee and was a site council member. He also is founder and co-chair of the For the Best Scottsdale political action committee.

Norton says he is an opponent of the rise of extreme politics in American. The Arizona Green Party says he has not been involved with the local organization prior to running for office.

Elizabeth Reye

Elizabeth Reye
Elizabeth Reye

Elizabeth Reye is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and has a doctorate in neuroscience who worked for the National Institute for Health.

After living in Portland, Oregon, for a time, she ran for a seat in the Oregon Legislature. A native Arizonan, she returned to the state and said she is running as a “Reagan Republican” amid what she calls extremism in both parties.

She is the mother of three, and her issues include border security, Second Amendment protections and responsibilities, and abortion.