Races to Watch in Arizona’s Primary Elections Today

Before Kari Lake can take on Representative Ruben Gallego for a Senate seat, she must win her Republican race. And two House races set up by the primaries will be hotly contested in the fall.

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Kari Lake and Representative Ruben Gallego are expected to face off in the fall after Arizona’s primary elections.

The political attention of the nation will turn to the desert on Tuesday evening as Arizona holds its primary elections in the triple-digit summer heat.

Here are the key races to watch in the Copper State.

The matchup to replace Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate

Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat representing part of Phoenix, has spent the past year and a half running unopposed in his party’s primary for a key U.S. Senate seat. When Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who left the party in 2022, officially decided in March not to run for re-election, the Democratic side of the race was set.

On the Republican side, Kari Lake is expected to emerge from a primary race against Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff. Ms. Lake became a Republican star during her unsuccessful bid for governor two years ago, when she embraced former President Donald J. Trump and championed his lies about a stolen election in 2020.

Ms. Lake’s scorched-earth governor’s campaign divided Republicans in Arizona, and she is still working to mend fences within the party. But she is favored to defeat Sheriff Lamb, a right-wing candidate who has made tougher border restrictions a centerpiece of his campaign.

Two tossup House districts

Two of Democrats’ top pickup opportunities as they try to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives are in Arizona. The matchup in the Sixth Congressional District, in Tucson, is all but set, with Kirsten Engel running unopposed in the Democratic primary to challenge Representative Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, in November. Mr. Ciscomani has a long-shot challenger, Kathleen Winn, who is running to his right.

But the Democratic primary in the First Congressional District, in the Scottsdale area, is crowded, with a host of candidates vying to face Representative David Schweikert, a Republican. Voters on Tuesday will decide which of the top contenders to back: Andrei Cherny, a former state party chair; Marlene Galán-Woods, a former broadcast journalist; Conor O’Callaghan, an investment banker; or former State Representative Amish Shah.

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