Key points:

• The AP has called the GOP Secretary of State race for Alex Kolodin
• State Superintendent Tom Horne is in danger of losing his primary to Kimberly Yee
• GOP Corporation Commission race is very close

Republican candidates for statewide office were mostly locked in races that were too close to call on Tuesday night, with one incumbent currently trailing.

While much of the nation considers Tuesday’s election night a simple midterm primary contest, in Arizona this is a key election year that will decide four-year terms in the state’s executive branch.

Here’s a rundown:

Secretary of State

In a race that pitted two well-known Republicans against each other to face off against incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes, State Rep. Alex Kolodin performed well enough with early voters for the Associated Press to call the race just 17 minutes after the first results dropped.

Those early votes gave Kolodin, a regular disputer of prior election results, a 58%-42% lead over Gina Swoboda, the former head of the Arizona Republican Party and longtime election administrator, who had offered primary voters a stylistic contrast.

“I got into this race to give our voters a choice,” Swoboda wrote in a post on X after the race was called. “Our people have spoken. It has been an honor to serve our party, both as chair and as a candidate for Secretary of State. I wish our party nothing but success up and down the ticket in the General Election.”

Kolodin took his win as an opportunity to take a swing at Fontes. 

“Arizona voters spoke up decisively for lawful, transparent, honest, and fair elections,” Kolodin said in a statement. “This victory shows that Arizonans are sick and tired of Adrian Fontes’ mismanagement of our election system and that they are ready for world-class elections that Democrats, Republicans, and Independents can be proud of.” 

Fontes ran unopposed and now faces Kolodin in the general election. 

State superintendent

Tom Horne is in danger of losing his re-election campaign before it truly begins, as State Treasurer Kimberly Yee has more than an 8 percentage point lead after early results.

Arizona Freedom Caucus chair Sen. Jake Hoffman recruited Yee to run against Horne after dubbing him the “single greatest threat to school choice.” 

Yee received the full support of Turning Point USA. And on the campaign trail, Yee has continued to harp on Horne’s failure to move the needle on academic performance and Empowerment Scholarship Account management during his time in office. 

Horne, who held the Superintendent’s office once before, continued on his familiar crusade against critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in school settings. He claimed his opponent served on a DEI committee for the National Association of State Treasurers – a fact which Yee disputed via cease and desist. 

If her lead holds, Yee will face Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz. Ruiz roundly prevailed in the Democratic primary over opponent Brett Newby, taking 80% of the vote. 

State treasurer

In the race to replace Yee as treasurer, insurance executive Elijah Norton jumped out to a small lead over State Board of Education president Katherine Haley.

Haley was recruited by Yee to take her place, while Norton received the endorsement and support of Turning Point. 

In his campaign, Norton made the race about experience. He leaned on his position as the founder and president of Veritas Global Protection Services, an international vehicle insurance company, and his time as the treasurer for the Republican Party of Arizona as proof of his ability to handle multiple investment portfolios and millions of dollars in assets. 

Haley cited her long background in public service as lead of the State Board of Education and former chief policy advisor in the U.S. House and Senate. And she noted her current work as the owner of Oak Rose Group, an investment consulting firm. 

As results started rolling in, Norton came out in the lead with 54.3% to Haley’s 45.7%. 

Corporation Commission

While one incumbent on the five-member Arizona Corporation Commission has built up a lead in the Republican primary, the other was trailing by a razor-thin margin Tuesday night for the second spot on the November ballot.

In a race pitting three candidates for two nominations, incumbent Kevin Thompson is leading the way with 36% of the vote. But his running mate fell behind state Rep. Ralph Heap for the second spot after early results. Less than 1 percentage point separates the two.

Whoever makes it out of the primary will face Democrats Clara Pratte and Jonothon Hill, who both ran unopposed, in the general election.