With the final numbers still coming in from the Yavapai County Recorder, the Larson Newspaper Decision Desk has decided the Yavapai County 3rd Congressional District seat will be decided by Democrat Nikki Check and Republican Lori Drake. It broke.
As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, an hour after polls closed, Cech initially held a lead of more than 1,000 votes, but only early votes mailed in before Election Day were counted. It was something.
Early voting has been a key component of the election process in Arizona since the 1990s, and the state does not have the same partisan bias as other states, where Democrats tend to vote early and Republicans vote on Election Day. . In Arizona, Democrats and Republicans mailed out early votes.
Drake never took the lead against checks. As more votes were counted, the lead over Check and Drake was reduced to 800 votes. Over the following days, Check maintained a 400-vote lead, then 200, 268, 243, and finally 201 on Monday, November 11th. But as of late Tuesday, Nov. 12, Check’s lead had doubled to 402 votes. Statewide and countywide, election officials counted early votes that tended to favor Democrats, but the numbers dwindled on Election Day.
At this point, Ms. Drake needs to receive more than 61% of the final uncounted votes, but her share of the vote is small, up from 40% in the Sedona and Oak Creek Village precincts, making her the most Only 54% of constituencies support it. Mr. Check’s current 402-vote lead may narrow, but there are not mathematically enough votes to change the trajectory of the election in Mr. Drake’s favor, Larson Newspapers Decision Desk reported Wednesday, Nov. 11. On the morning of , he called for Mr. Cech to run.
“A huge thank you to the election workers who counted ballots throughout the week,” Cech said on Nov. 13. “Now that the final results are in, I am honored that the people of Yavapai County District 3 have entrusted me with the duties and responsibilities that come with the election,” said Supervisor. I look forward to an engaging and productive next four years as I strive to deliver results for the community. I would like to thank our amazing team of committee members and volunteers who made this campaign not only possible, but fun. I am very proud of the positive race we ran and excited to serve the people of Sedona and the Verde Valley as a Yavapai County team. ”
The current Yavapai County Board of Supervisors plans to convene a meeting to formally investigate the election and officially announce the results.
The Republican candidate who wins the July primary will win the seat without facing an opponent in the general election. In the District 1 Republican race, Brooks Compton won with 41%, followed by Greg Mengarelli with 36%, David McNabb with 12% and Deb Parnis with 10%. In Ward 2, incumbent James Gregory received 58% of the vote. Yavapai College Board member Chris Cucunyo narrowly defeated District 4 incumbent Craig Brown by a margin of 138 votes, receiving 40% of the vote in a three-way contest with Lucy Reyna Wheat. In the District 5 primary, incumbent Mary Mallory won re-election against Richard Tupek with 70% of the vote.
Two incumbents and three newcomers will then be sworn in, likely next week.
