Updated July 21, 2026 at 10:03 PM PDT
Primary election polls are closed in Arizona and Trump-backed candidates prevailed over other Republicans in the race for governor and a key house seat.
The results also showed the GOP backing a candidate who opposed the results of the 2020 election in the race for secretary of state, a post with a key role in administering elections.
The election offers a look at voter sentiment in a swing state. The state went for President Trump in 2024 but elected a Democratic governor two years before that.
Democrats hope to pick up a couple seats in the U.S. House, which could determine whether the party can wrest control from the GOP. Republicans hold the House by just a few seats and the party in the White House usually loses seats in the midterms.
Some of the key races could come down to who has the support of President Trump or Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who lived in Arizona.
Democrats vie to flip an open toss-up district
Armed with Trump's endorsement and name recognition, former NFL kicker Jay Feely is the Republican nominee in Arizona's First Congressional District, according to a race call by the Associated Press.
The race is one of only 18 House seats in the country listed as a "toss up" in the Cook Political Report. In the Phoenix metro area, the district is currently represented by Republican Rep. David Schweikert but he opted to run for governor this election cycle.
Feely beat a candidate to his right. His Democratic opponent has not been decided yet.
There is another toss-up House seat in Arizona. That's the Sixth District, currently held by Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani. He was first elected in 2022, but won his reelection bid in 2024 with 50% of the vote in the district that runs from Tucson toward the border with Mexico.
He was unopposed in the primary, as was Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, a military veteran who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. They'll face off in November.
In Arizona's blue-leaning Fourth Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton fended off a primary challenge by progressive candidate Kai Newkirk, according to the AP race call.
Trump endorsed candidate wins GOP nomination for Arizona governor
Conservative Congressman Andy Biggs is set to face off against Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs for the closely watched office.
Biggs, who has been a long time loyalist of the president, was backed by Trump. He overwhelmingly beat a more moderate Republican, Congressman David Schweikert, for the nomination. The victory indicates that Trump's influence continues to matter in critical races, even in swing states where he is dealing with poor approval ratings. Biggs also clenched the endorsement of Turning Point Action, which is aligned with Turning Point USA.
In Congress, Biggs voted against certifying the state's results in the 2020 election of President Biden, which Trump falsely said was rigged. But he's portrayed himself as someone who can appeal to Arizona's independent voters during his gubernatorial campaign.
Republicans say they have a good shot at flipping the governor's office. Hobbs is considered to be in a vulnerable position as one of two Democratic governors seeking re-election in a state that Trump won in 2024. Hobbs also narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake for governor in 2022.
Secretary of state race raises election integrity issues
The race for who conducts Arizona's elections has been determined. Democrat Adrian Fontes, the current secretary of state, will face Republican state lawmaker Alexander Kolodin, who has publicly said the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, in the general election.
Arizona has been a battleground over election laws since the 2020 election that President Trump lost and falsely claimed was rigged. Kolodin participated in lawsuits aimed at overturning the election results and is backed by Turning Point.
Camryn Sanchez of KJZZ in Phoenix contributed to this story.
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