Sunday Spotlight : The 2024 Arizona U.S. Senate Race

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - It is a while until we head to the polls to vote, but the high-stakes Arizona U.S. Senate race is already heating up.

Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego and Republican Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb are two of the first big names running. There are questions about what former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and the woman in that seat now, Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema will do.

“There’s a lot on the line here,” says Dr. Lisa Sanchez at the U of A School of Government and Public Policy.

The interest in this race goes well beyond Arizona’s boundaries. Since the Senate is so closely split among party lines, whoever is picked for the seat in 2024 could have a lot of power when it comes to local and national issues.

“It puts Arizona at the center of every single decision that goes through the Senate,” says Dr. Sanchez. “Potentially we could lose that if we don’t have as moderate a candidate. Then they fade into the background of the parties so there is maybe more than this national attention on the balance of power but Arizona we could also sort of lose a little bit of power.”

Millions of dollars are very likely to be spent on this race as it unfolds. Political experts across the board say it’s also likely to be divisive and nasty.

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