Final campaign spending reports from the 2010 election season revealed desperation by ultimately unsuccessful candidates who loaned their campaigns large amounts of money, as well as aggressive spending by winning candidates who likely didn’t need it.

Polling on Arizona’s statewide races has consistently shown GOP candidates on top, and Republicans are optimistic that the anti-Democratic mood sweeping the state and the country will give them total control of state government.

Only a couple of relatively competitive races stand between Republicans and their first sweep of Arizona’s six statewide offices since 1994, not including the Corporation Commission.

A group of former Cold Stone Creamery franchise owners accused Republican state treasurer candidate Doug Ducey, the company's former CEO, of using a raft of dishonest business practices to perpetuate a revolving-door system that lured in franchisees, bankrupted them and then pushed them aside to make way for new ones.

Three current or former Arizona lawmakers, a former presidential adviser and a business executive are among the candidates in Tuesday's primary election for state treasurer.

State treasurer isn’t the political plum that other executive offices have been for ambitious politicians, but some of this year’s candidates are raising and spending money like the office is the first step toward the Ninth Floor, Congress and beyond.

State treasurer candidate Doug Ducey had a lien placed on his Paradise Valley home for failure to pay property taxes, and paid two years worth of taxes shortly after he filed to run for office, according to the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office.

While much of the attention has been focused on the gubernatorial race since a federal court upheld matching funds, another candidate for a statewide race also is likely to benefit from the opinion — Sen. Barbara Leff of Paradise Valley.