Vince Leach at the Arizona Capitol in 2017. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Controversial far-right state Sen. Justine Wadsack has lost her bid for reelection, falling short of Vince Leach — the man she beat just two years ago — in a tight contest in a Tucson area legislative district.
As of Thursday morning, when the Associated Press called the race in his favor, Leach had 16,485 votes to Wadsack’s 15,442, giving him 51.5% of votes to her 48.5%, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
This is the second time that Leach and Wadsack have faced off in a primary for the same state Senate seat, but last time the results were reversed when Wadsack unseated Leach, who was then the incumbent, in the 2022 GOP primary.
But the Republican primary voters of Legislative District 17, which covers the northeastern portion of Pima County and a southern sliver of Pinal County, have had a change of heart.
Wadsack, of Tucson, has been one of the most vocal members of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus since she took office last year, criticizing what she called “sexualized” education in public schools, authoring anti-drag bills and lambasting the Arizona State Bar with accusations she refused to back up.
In Wadsack’s most recent brush with drama, she claimed political persecution after she was pulled over for going 71 mph in a 35 mph zone back in March.
The charges were delayed after she introduced herself to the officer who stopped her as a state senator. Legislative immunity prohibits lawmakers from being charged with crimes during the legislative session. But after this year’s session came to a close on June 15, Wadsack refused to sign a citation, and a misdemeanor charge was filed against her on Election Day in Tucson City Court.
As of late Thursday morning, Wadsack had not publicly conceded to Leach.
Leach, of Saddlebrooke, was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2014, serving two terms before being elected to the state Senate in 2018. Before that, he worked in sales and management for more than three decades.
While Wadsack has been more focused on social issues during her time in the Senate, to Leach’s dedication to supporting business, their policy positions are similar in many cases. Leach also drafted an anti-drag bill in 2022 and, like his opponent, has railed against transgender girls playing girls sports.
Democrats were eying a head-to-head contest in November against Wadsack, viewing it as a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in a legislative chamber where Republicans hold power by a single vote. Leach cuts a less controversial profile, but Democrats have already sought to paint him as “extreme” and “corrupt,” pointing to his many votes as a legislator to restrict abortion, cut school funding and gut health care coverage for Arizonans.
Leach will face Democrat John McClean in November, who ran unopposed in the primary.
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