Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage Your Inside Track to Arizona Elections
Republican Gail Griffin ousted incumbent Sen. Manny Alvarez in the race for the Senate in Legislative District 25.
With all 109 precincts reporting, Griffin received 26,719 votes compared to Alvarez’ 21,744, the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State’s Office shows.
In the end, Alvarez failed to capitalize on his strength in Santa Cruz County.
The results of the primary election in August had painted a worrisome picture for Alvarez, a moderate Democrat.
For the first time in the last four election cycles, more people cast votes in the Republican primary than in the Democratic primary.
Alvarez earlier said he hoped that voters who stayed at home during the primary would come out to vote on Election Day.
Democrats hold a nine-point voter registration edge in the district, but the GOP base there is energized.
And while Griffin faced a fund-raising deficit early in the campaign, she had managed to pull in $13,600, according to her pre-general election report.
Alvarez had $21,000 to spend as a Clean Elections candidate.
Independent groups also came to Griffin’s rescue by spending nearly $15,000 to help her campaign.
Meanwhile, Alvarez benefited from $9,000 in independent expenditures.
Additionally, one group spent nearly $3,000 to defeat Griffin.