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Local, county and state primary election results
By Ainslee S. Wittig & Bill Hess/Arizona Range News/WICk news
While storms in some areas made it difficult to get to the polls during last Tuesday's state primary election, 28.85 percent (22,092) of Cochise County's registered voters (76,574 total) voted on either the republican or democratic ballots. Early ballots numbered 8,955, while 13,137 voted at the polls.
Local races included only those for justice of the peace and constables in Willcox and Bowie.
Willcox Justice of the Peace Trevor Ward of Cochise County's Precinct 4 had no opposition other than write-ins candidates.
Ward received 1,086 votes (99.36 of the votes). There were seven votes for write-in candidates and 261 under votes in the republican primary race.
Under votes are those who have voted on a ballot in the primary but not in a particular race (or less votes in a race than allowed).
Republican Robert L. Stewart II, received 1002 votes (99.01 percent of the votes) for constable of Precinct 4. There were 10 write-ins and 340 under votes.
One republican and one democrat ran for Cochise County Justice of the Peace Precinct 6 in Bowie in the Primary Election Tuesday.
Democrat Michael Skiles received 81 votes (95.29 percent of the vote); while republican Debra Juarez, currently on the Bowie Fire Department Board, received 40 votes (71.43 percent of the vote).
There were four democratic ballot write-ins and 16 republican ballot write-ins. There were 11 under votes in the democratic tally and 75 under votes by republican primary voters.
Phil Tapia, democratic candidate for constable of Precinct 6, received 65 votes (91.55 percent). There were six write-in votes and 25 under votes. He had no opponent on the republican ballot, but there were 10 write-in votes.
In other races:
Arizona Legislative
District 25
Candidates for Arizona Legislative District 25 Senate and House races received party support during Tuesday's primary elections in Cochise County.
Democratic incumbent state Sen. Manny Alvarez, who was unopposed, received 4,689 votes with 137 write-ins cast.
For the House, where two Democratic candidates will go forward in the November general election, incumbent Pat Fleming was the top, receiving 3,238 votes, followed by Ruben Ortega at 2,809. Coming in third in the county was Ken Davis with 1,566. Also, 56 votes went to write-ins.
In the GOP Senate contest, Gail Griffin, who technically was unopposed after Craig Smith pulled out of the race, received 5,704 votes.
However Smith still received 2,722 votes for the Senate position and 39 write-ins were cast.
Both GOP state House candidates, incumbent David Stevens and Peggy Judd, of Willcox, did well, with Stevens garnering 5,816 votes and Judd 4,775, with 66 write-ins votes also listed.
In Arizona, there is one senator for each legislative district and two representatives in the state Legislature.
Congressional District 8
Now the real campaign can begin for the Congressional District 8 seat, with Republican Jesse Kelly taking the primary election. That race started out with five GOP candidates - Kelly, Andy Goss, Brian Miller, Jonathan Paton and Jay Quick.
But the GOP primary fight was really down to Kelly and Paton after Goss and Miller bowed out of the race
Although there were some harsh anti-Kelly ads from the Paton campaign, now that the primary fight is over, Kelly said he envisions support from Paton's people as well as independents and Democrats.
"There are many Democrats who are unhappy with Gabrielle Giffords," the Democratic congresswoman representing Congressional District 8, which includes all of Cochise County, Kelly said.
The object is to "have a unified campaign to defeat her," he said, adding that there is no bad blood between him and Paton.
While the GOP primary was hard-fought, Kelly said he sees a victory in November to bring Arizona's conservative values back to Congress.
Paton's campaign spokesman said that the former Arizona legislator conceded around 11 p.m.
Now the object of everyone is to make sure Giffords is not re-elected, Paton aide Daniel Scarpinato said.
Paton was seen as the GOP establishment candidate, and one time Kelly called him Republicans' "star-studded recruit," noting that Paton received financial support from Republican power brokers.
"I'm guessing they'll throw money at this race now," because taking the congressional district out of Democrat control is a major GOP goal nationally, Kelly said.
It is not only having a majority GOP in Congress but also what is needed "is for the Republican Party to wake up," he said last week during a final campaign swing through Sierra Vista.
Conservative values must be used in making national decisions, he said, and the Republicans can no longer lick their fingers to see which way the wind is blowing, he said.
As for Giffords, he said it will be a difficult general election.
"She's a much better campaigner," Kelly said, adding that his time in the primary pit has strengthened him to face her.
Not taking any respite from jumping directly into the campaign for the November general election, incumbent Giffords said the issues will come down to deciding whether the voters want representation that will help them or a Republican "who is more an ideologue."
Since 2006, the first year she was elected, Giffords said she has served all the constituents, regardless of their political persuasion.
As for Kelly, he wants to privatize Social Security and really wants to eliminate the program, Giffords said.
Many seniors depend on Social Security and if it had been privatized in the past, as Republicans have been wanting, the major downturn in the nation's economy would have devastated people on the program, she said.
But she is facing an ad campaign against her that she said will include attacks from a group, Americans for Prosperity, that she likens to a political slush fund of billionaire David Koch, who supports outsourcing American jobs overseas and wants to privatize Social Security.
WHAT'S AHEAD
FOR VOTERS
A Democrat, incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will face off against Republican Jesse Kelly, a newcomer to the political arena, for Arizona's Congressional District 8 seat in November.
Also in the general election will be Libertarian Steven Stoltz.
Following are the results of the votes cast in the 64 precincts in Cochise County:
Giffords, who was not opposed for the Democratic nomination, received 6,724 votes with 184 write-in votes.
Stoltz received 59 votes, with 9 going to write-ins in the Libertarian contest.
Kelly garnered 6,714 votes to Paton's 4,662, with 1,253 cast for Brian Miller, 228 for Jay Quick and 39 write-ins in the Republican race.
U.S. Senate's Cochise County vote
Although four-term Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain had nearly a 25 percent edge over J.D. Hayworth in the statewide Republican primary, in Cochise County, the spread was about 13 percent Tuesday.
And, when the votes for Jim Deakin and write-ins are added to the mix, more people in the county voted against McCain than for him - 7,295 to 6,635.
McCain's percentage was 47.51 in the county, compared to Hayworth's 34.29. Deakin received 17.94 percent and a quarter of a percent went to write-ins.
In the Democratic primary, Rodney Glassman was the top person in a four-person field, with 2,736 votes in the county.
Coming in second was Cathy Eden with 1,549 votes, followed by John Dougherty at 1,468 and then Randy Parraz at 845. There were 115 write-ins.
Green Party candidate Jerry Joslyn, who was unopposed, received 38 votes but there were 14 write-ins.
Libertarian David Nolan, also unopposed, had 58 votes with another 11 going to write-ins.
Superior Court Judge, Division II:
A three-way race for the Republican nomination for Superior Court Judge, Division II, fell to attorney John F. Kelliher Jr. with nearly 50 percent of the vote.
With all 64 precincts reporting, unofficial tallies show Kelliher received 48.05 percent of the vote, while his opponents, Deputy County Attorney Roger H. Conteras and attorney Karl D. Elledge, received 14.27 percent and 37.35 percent, respectively.
"Of course, I expected to do better," said Contreras. "I did a lot of hard work and met a lot of people and showed them who I was and that I was willing to do the job for Cochise County."
Elledge also expressed disappointment in the results.
"We ran a pretty good campaign," he said.
Multiple attempts to reach Kelliher on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Neither of his republican opponents ruled out a future run for the office.
Kelliher will face off against the sole democrat in the running for Superior Court, Division II, Cochise County Public Defender Mark A. Suagee.
Suagee said he was looking forward to the Nov. 2 general election "a great deal," and planned on highlighting his experience to garner votes.
"I look forward to the opportunity to take on a more expanded role and responsibility," he said.
Unopposed candidates
Several candidates for county offices ran unopposed during Tuesday's primary election. These candidates either represented the only member of their political party seeking the office or are the only candidate in the running for that office. Elections not featuring a single candidate will be decided on the Nov. 2 General Election.
Clerk of the Superior Court:
Democratic incumbent Denise Lundin will face Republican challenger Mary Ellen Dunlap for the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court. Lundin has held the position since February 1994, and has said she would like to further pursue online methods of filing court documents and receiving payments as a way to adjust to a shrinking budget. Dunlap, a legal secretary with the county attorney's office with more than 16 years of experience in the Superior Court Clerk's Office, said she would like clerk staff to be cross-trained in the various aspects of the office to ensure quality service.
Superior Court judge, Division I:
Judge Charles A. Irwin is unopposed in his bid to keep his seat presiding over Superior Court, Division I, a position he has held for four years.
Superior Court judge, Division III:
Since 1996, Judge Wallace Hoggatt has overseen Division III of the Superior Court. His re-election in November seems all but assured as he runs unopposed to keep his seat.
Justice Precinct 5 constable:
Rick Tutor's position as the constable for Justice Court 5 in Sierra Vista is unopposed. Tutor looks to secure his third four-year term in the office come November.
Local races included only those for justice of the peace and constables in Willcox and Bowie.
Willcox Justice of the Peace Trevor Ward of Cochise County's Precinct 4 had no opposition other than write-ins candidates.
Ward received 1,086 votes (99.36 of the votes). There were seven votes for write-in candidates and 261 under votes in the republican primary race.
Under votes are those who have voted on a ballot in the primary but not in a particular race (or less votes in a race than allowed).
Republican Robert L. Stewart II, received 1002 votes (99.01 percent of the votes) for constable of Precinct 4. There were 10 write-ins and 340 under votes.
One republican and one democrat ran for Cochise County Justice of the Peace Precinct 6 in Bowie in the Primary Election Tuesday.
Democrat Michael Skiles received 81 votes (95.29 percent of the vote); while republican Debra Juarez, currently on the Bowie Fire Department Board, received 40 votes (71.43 percent of the vote).
There were four democratic ballot write-ins and 16 republican ballot write-ins. There were 11 under votes in the democratic tally and 75 under votes by republican primary voters.
Phil Tapia, democratic candidate for constable of Precinct 6, received 65 votes (91.55 percent). There were six write-in votes and 25 under votes. He had no opponent on the republican ballot, but there were 10 write-in votes.
In other races:
Arizona Legislative
District 25
Candidates for Arizona Legislative District 25 Senate and House races received party support during Tuesday's primary elections in Cochise County.
Democratic incumbent state Sen. Manny Alvarez, who was unopposed, received 4,689 votes with 137 write-ins cast.
For the House, where two Democratic candidates will go forward in the November general election, incumbent Pat Fleming was the top, receiving 3,238 votes, followed by Ruben Ortega at 2,809. Coming in third in the county was Ken Davis with 1,566. Also, 56 votes went to write-ins.
In the GOP Senate contest, Gail Griffin, who technically was unopposed after Craig Smith pulled out of the race, received 5,704 votes.
However Smith still received 2,722 votes for the Senate position and 39 write-ins were cast.
Both GOP state House candidates, incumbent David Stevens and Peggy Judd, of Willcox, did well, with Stevens garnering 5,816 votes and Judd 4,775, with 66 write-ins votes also listed.
In Arizona, there is one senator for each legislative district and two representatives in the state Legislature.
Congressional District 8
Now the real campaign can begin for the Congressional District 8 seat, with Republican Jesse Kelly taking the primary election. That race started out with five GOP candidates - Kelly, Andy Goss, Brian Miller, Jonathan Paton and Jay Quick.
But the GOP primary fight was really down to Kelly and Paton after Goss and Miller bowed out of the race
Although there were some harsh anti-Kelly ads from the Paton campaign, now that the primary fight is over, Kelly said he envisions support from Paton's people as well as independents and Democrats.
"There are many Democrats who are unhappy with Gabrielle Giffords," the Democratic congresswoman representing Congressional District 8, which includes all of Cochise County, Kelly said.
The object is to "have a unified campaign to defeat her," he said, adding that there is no bad blood between him and Paton.
While the GOP primary was hard-fought, Kelly said he sees a victory in November to bring Arizona's conservative values back to Congress.
Paton's campaign spokesman said that the former Arizona legislator conceded around 11 p.m.
Now the object of everyone is to make sure Giffords is not re-elected, Paton aide Daniel Scarpinato said.
Paton was seen as the GOP establishment candidate, and one time Kelly called him Republicans' "star-studded recruit," noting that Paton received financial support from Republican power brokers.
"I'm guessing they'll throw money at this race now," because taking the congressional district out of Democrat control is a major GOP goal nationally, Kelly said.
It is not only having a majority GOP in Congress but also what is needed "is for the Republican Party to wake up," he said last week during a final campaign swing through Sierra Vista.
Conservative values must be used in making national decisions, he said, and the Republicans can no longer lick their fingers to see which way the wind is blowing, he said.
As for Giffords, he said it will be a difficult general election.
"She's a much better campaigner," Kelly said, adding that his time in the primary pit has strengthened him to face her.
Not taking any respite from jumping directly into the campaign for the November general election, incumbent Giffords said the issues will come down to deciding whether the voters want representation that will help them or a Republican "who is more an ideologue."
Since 2006, the first year she was elected, Giffords said she has served all the constituents, regardless of their political persuasion.
As for Kelly, he wants to privatize Social Security and really wants to eliminate the program, Giffords said.
Many seniors depend on Social Security and if it had been privatized in the past, as Republicans have been wanting, the major downturn in the nation's economy would have devastated people on the program, she said.
But she is facing an ad campaign against her that she said will include attacks from a group, Americans for Prosperity, that she likens to a political slush fund of billionaire David Koch, who supports outsourcing American jobs overseas and wants to privatize Social Security.
WHAT'S AHEAD
FOR VOTERS
A Democrat, incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will face off against Republican Jesse Kelly, a newcomer to the political arena, for Arizona's Congressional District 8 seat in November.
Also in the general election will be Libertarian Steven Stoltz.
Following are the results of the votes cast in the 64 precincts in Cochise County:
U.S. Senate's Cochise County vote
Although four-term Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain had nearly a 25 percent edge over J.D. Hayworth in the statewide Republican primary, in Cochise County, the spread was about 13 percent Tuesday.
And, when the votes for Jim Deakin and write-ins are added to the mix, more people in the county voted against McCain than for him - 7,295 to 6,635.
McCain's percentage was 47.51 in the county, compared to Hayworth's 34.29. Deakin received 17.94 percent and a quarter of a percent went to write-ins.
In the Democratic primary, Rodney Glassman was the top person in a four-person field, with 2,736 votes in the county.
Coming in second was Cathy Eden with 1,549 votes, followed by John Dougherty at 1,468 and then Randy Parraz at 845. There were 115 write-ins.
Green Party candidate Jerry Joslyn, who was unopposed, received 38 votes but there were 14 write-ins.
Libertarian David Nolan, also unopposed, had 58 votes with another 11 going to write-ins.
Superior Court Judge, Division II:
A three-way race for the Republican nomination for Superior Court Judge, Division II, fell to attorney John F. Kelliher Jr. with nearly 50 percent of the vote.
With all 64 precincts reporting, unofficial tallies show Kelliher received 48.05 percent of the vote, while his opponents, Deputy County Attorney Roger H. Conteras and attorney Karl D. Elledge, received 14.27 percent and 37.35 percent, respectively.
"Of course, I expected to do better," said Contreras. "I did a lot of hard work and met a lot of people and showed them who I was and that I was willing to do the job for Cochise County."
Elledge also expressed disappointment in the results.
"We ran a pretty good campaign," he said.
Multiple attempts to reach Kelliher on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Neither of his republican opponents ruled out a future run for the office.
Kelliher will face off against the sole democrat in the running for Superior Court, Division II, Cochise County Public Defender Mark A. Suagee.
Suagee said he was looking forward to the Nov. 2 general election "a great deal," and planned on highlighting his experience to garner votes.
"I look forward to the opportunity to take on a more expanded role and responsibility," he said.
Unopposed candidates
Several candidates for county offices ran unopposed during Tuesday's primary election. These candidates either represented the only member of their political party seeking the office or are the only candidate in the running for that office. Elections not featuring a single candidate will be decided on the Nov. 2 General Election.
Clerk of the Superior Court:
Democratic incumbent Denise Lundin will face Republican challenger Mary Ellen Dunlap for the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court. Lundin has held the position since February 1994, and has said she would like to further pursue online methods of filing court documents and receiving payments as a way to adjust to a shrinking budget. Dunlap, a legal secretary with the county attorney's office with more than 16 years of experience in the Superior Court Clerk's Office, said she would like clerk staff to be cross-trained in the various aspects of the office to ensure quality service.
Superior Court judge, Division I:
Judge Charles A. Irwin is unopposed in his bid to keep his seat presiding over Superior Court, Division I, a position he has held for four years.
Superior Court judge, Division III:
Since 1996, Judge Wallace Hoggatt has overseen Division III of the Superior Court. His re-election in November seems all but assured as he runs unopposed to keep his seat.
Justice Precinct 5 constable:
Rick Tutor's position as the constable for Justice Court 5 in Sierra Vista is unopposed. Tutor looks to secure his third four-year term in the office come November.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of willcoxrangenews.com.
Andy wrote on Sep 1, 2010 11:50 PM:
"Gabrielle Giffords has reached page 1 of her Liberal Attack Manual, scare seniors about Social Security.
Here is the truth: Jesse Kelly wants to protect Social Security for current retirees. We will fully honor our commitments for those now receiving benefits. Those who have been paying into the system should also receive their full benefits.
We need a long-term solution that ensures funds paid into the system will be there when people retire. Younger workers should have the choice of allocating a portion of their contribution into a personal retirement account in their name. Individuals could choose from a range of appropriate retirement options: a blend of guaranteed savings accounts, investment grade bonds, and blue chip equities. Americans should have the same options that Giffords, as a member of Congress, has through the Federal Thrift Savings Plan.
Representative Giffords has no plan to deal with the long-term challenges facing our current retirement system. Giffords' failure to take action is pushing the Social Security program closer to collapse. We must not allow Giffords to bankrupt the system. Southern Arizona deserves a representative who is willing to take on tough issues and find good solutions. Jesse Kelly is that person." "