Hard work and money.

In political campaigning, consultants and pollsters bet money.

They secured a seat in Senate Legislative District 7 in the primary between Sen. Wendy Rogers (R, Flagstaff) and Rep. David Cook (R, Globe) with her larger campaign fund. I expect it to be maintained.

On July 7th, Cook he said he was going to run away Mr. Rogers protested against Mr. Rogers after he was accused on social media of accidentally retweeting a video containing explicit images and then deleting it.

Cook raised about $109,000 and spent about $62,000 in the last election cycle.

Rogers raised about $3.3 million and spent about $3.2 million over the same period.

“Fundraising is always a concern,” Cook said in a text message. He said he would use a strategy he has implemented in the past. “Working hard and always putting voters first and thinking about what is important to voters and their everyday lives,” he said.

Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin believes money will be the most important factor in the primary.

“Mr. Cook is chewing to pieces,” Coughlin said in a text message. He said Republican primary voters adored Mr. Rogers and identified her with Republican business owner, mother of four, and former President Donald Trump’s torchbearer, Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colorado). State, Republican) Arizona version.

Coughlin said the Rogers funding puts Cook “on the wrong side of the equation.”

In 2022, former Congressman Kelly Townsend faced off against Rogers and lost. Mr. Townsend, who had a long career in Congress and was in a similar position to Mr. Rogers, won by a large margin, winning about 40% of the vote to Rogers’ 60%.

Democratic lobbyist Gael Esposito said Cook was a stronger candidate than Townsend, who has a “conservative populist” message. “I wonder if the R group, disgusted by her behavior, would spend the money to help him,” Esposito said in a text message.

Rogers’ administrative assistant said he could not comment, but he has many supporters on social media and is supported by many MAGA Republicans around the country, including Trump.

Many of her social media followers and donors are voters for her LD7 campaign, but in the last election she received significantly more votes than all other congressional candidates in Arizona.

Republican lobbyist Barrett Merson said of Cook: But getting over that huge war chest might be a hill too high to climb. In fact, few people know who the state representatives are. But even if Senator Rogers spent a million or two million dollars educating Republican voters, I’m not sure Mr. Cook would be able to pull it off. “

Cook’s term expires in 2025, so he cannot run again for the current House of Representatives seat in the next election.

Rogers won his first election in 2020, and Cook won his first election in 2016. He currently chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rogers chairs the Senate Elections Committee.

Consultant Tyler Montagu said if there was any chance he could take on Rodgers, it would be Cook. But he also acknowledged that there are gaps in their funding.

“Her superpower is the huge amount of dollars she makes from hawking griftspiel to donors,” he said in a text message.

At LD7, former Congressmen John Fillmore and Walt Blackman have applied to run for Congress. So did Cook’s attendant, Rep. David Marshall Sr. (R-Snowflake).

So far, only Ms. Rogers has announced her intention to run for a state Senate seat in the district, and only Ms. Cook has said she will run against her.

“I think he’s going to need more money than he’s ever raised,” Democratic consultant Tony Crani said of Cook.

Rogers received 24,023 votes and Townsend 16,185 in last year’s primary.

Last year, Mr. Cook ran against two other Republicans in the primary, but voters were able to vote for both. He was the highest vote earner with 21,276 votes. Fillmore received 16,742 votes and Marshall Jr. received 18,083.

As to how those numbers carry over into 2024, Highground strategist Paul Benz said he thought it was a “neutral” one.

“It all comes down to what’s going on in Coconino County,” Benz said. “Mr Rogers is certainly doing his job and seems to be a true voice for voters’ needs.”

Cook fought very well against Fillmore, but Benz described him as “a lot more aligned on some of Trump’s issues.” Fillmore was also at the disadvantage of being placed in an area that was significantly different from the area it had previously won due to the restructuring.

“Mr Cook has a very long track record of success, but I’m not sure it matters to mainstream Republicans who just want people to know how they feel. And Mr Rogers has certainly done that over the years. We’ve done it professionally,” Benz said.

Cook has had success in Pinal County and parts of it in LD7. Benz predicts that parts of Pinal County will grow and move more centrally over time, but that hasn’t happened yet. However, Rogers is established by voters in the White Mountains region further north.

“At the moment her donor base is almost exclusively domestic, which will give her a significant financial advantage,” Benz said.

t