LD17 draws the big bucks
Big stakes for the Legislature ... Donors come from far and wide … Obama incoming.
When the balance of power at the state Legislature depends on the success of your campaign, money comes pouring in.
The races in Legislative District 17 had a $3.1 million price tag as of October 1, as Democrats try to snag a seat or two that would erase Republicans’ slim majority.
For their part, Republicans are working hard to keep control of the Legislature, which allows them to block virtually every bill proposed by Democratic lawmakers.
Two House seats and one Senate seat are up for grabs in LD17, which runs from Pinal County along the north side of Tucson from Oro Valley to Vail. All three seats are held by Republican lawmakers.
So far, the campaigns for the five candidates raised more than $1.4 million in contributions from voters, organizations, and political action committees.
On top of that, special interest groups pumped $1.7 million worth of independent expenditures into the district.
With stakes this high, contributors aren’t just Oro Valley retirees opening their wallets and donating $50. We’re talking about huge amounts of money flowing in from all over the state, and the country as a whole.
Senate seat
John McLean (D)
Campaign contributions: $448,000. McLean’s most recent campaign finance report includes about 200 pages of individual contributors. Some of his biggest contributors were:
McLean himself. He loaned his campaign $75,000.
Roxton Baker, Avondale resident
Denise and Cary Phillips, an engineer at Industrial Light and Magic in California
Ken and Linda Morris, Carefree residents
Vanessa Edwards, Tucson resident
Jon Borschow, CEO of Jalka Realty in Puerto Rico
Independent expenditures: $446,000.
About $315,000 was spent supporting his run and $130,000 was spent opposing his opponent, Republican Vince Leach.
McLean got a big helping hand from Future Freedoms, which spent $185,000 supporting McLean and $97,000 opposing Leach. Future Freedoms is funded by unions like the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, New York-based investors like Robert Stavis and James Millstein, and environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters.
McLean also got $4,000 from a climate PAC run by Jane Fonda, who came to Tucson this week to campaign for him, Jen Allen, the Democratic candidate for county supervisor in District 3, and Joshua Polacheck, a Tucson Democrat running for the Arizona Corporation Commission, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Cash on hand: $76,000
The state’s campaign finance system is still frustratingly difficult to use. But with your financial support, we’ll keep at it!
Vince Leach (R)
Campaign contributions: $280,000. His most recent report had far fewer individual contributors than McLean, just 10 pages. Some of his biggest contributors were:
Leach loaned his campaign $45,000
Bonnie and David Mehl, Tucson residents who helped gerrymander LD17 to be as Republican-friendly as possible
Omar Mireles, executive at HSL Properties in Tucson
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation PAC, Realtors of Arizona, and the Greater Phoenix Chamber PAC
Randy and Ken Kendrick, Paradise Valley residents who own the Arizona Diamondbacks
Slade Stewart, executive at the Scottsdale-based investment company Services Group of America
Jay Eby and Price Kapub, owners of Prescott-based Patriot Disposal
Jim and Vicki Click, owners of the well-known Tucson auto dealerships
Karl Watson, owner of Watson Chevrolet in Tucson
Richard Luebke, used to run the Pima Medical Institute
Independent expenditures: $465,000.
He benefited from $342,000 in independent expenditures supporting his campaign and $130,000 spent against McLean.
The biggest independent expenditures supporting Leach came from Responsible Leadership for AZ, Term Limits Action Arizona, and the Arizona Multihousing Association.
Cash on hand: $136,000
Leach has more cash left than McLean, or any of the House candidates in LD17.
House seats
Kevin Volk (D)
Campaign contributions: $455,000. Volk had about 170 pages of individual contributors. Some of his biggest contributors were:
William Cook, Phoenix resident
Vanessa Edwards, Tucson resident
Roxton Baker, Avondale resident
Patrick Siegman, planner at San Francisco-based Siegman and Associates
Ken Morris, Carefree resident
Cicely Parseghian, attorney in Tucson
Daniel Kautz, manager at K and S construction company in Tucson
Independent expenditures: $269,000.
He benefited from $82,000 in independent expenditures supporting his campaign and $187,000 against his two Republican rivals.
About $42,000 of the money spent supporting him came from Stand For Children Arizona, where former Democratic lawmaker Daniel Hernandez is an executive.
Future Freedoms spent $144,000 going after Volk’s opponents
Cash on hand: $19,000
Volk spent more of his money already than any other candidate in LD17.
Cory McGarr (R)
Campaign contributions: $135,000. McGarr had about 20 pages of individual contributors. Some of his biggest contributors were:
Randy and Ken Kendrick, owners of the Diamondbacks, and their son Cal.
Slade Stewart, executive at the Scottsdale-based investment company Services Group of America.
Elijah Norton, Scottsdale resident and founder of Veritas Global Protections
Independent expenditures: $504,000.1
$84,000 came from Make Liberty Win Arizona and $68,000 came from the House Victory Fund
Cash on hand: $54,000
Rachel Jones (R)
Campaign contributions: $126,000. She had about 20 pages of individual contributors in her most recent report. Some of her biggest contributors were:
Randy and Ken Kendrick, owners of the Diamondbacks
Elijah Norton, Scottsdale resident and founder of Veritas Global Protections
Independent expenditures: $489,000
$71,000 came from Make Liberty Win Arizona, a PAC based in Virginia, and $68,000 came from the House Victory Fund
Cash on hand: $42,000
That’s the quick and dirty version of all those spreadsheets. Of course, there is so much more to pull from them. If you’re wondering how spending in LD17 stacks up to the other competitive districts, our colleagues at the Arizona Agenda break it down for you.
They also explain how Arizona got to the point that millions of dollars could be spent on races in a single district, which would have been unheard of a decade or so ago.
Obama coming to town: Former President Barack Obama is coming to Tucson today to campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket, the Tucson Sentinel’s Paul Ingram reports. He is set to speak on the University of Arizona campus to reinforce the Democratic advantage in Tucson, which local Democrats are calling a “blue wall.”
Tangled webs: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos defended his decision to suspend his political opponent, Lt. Heather Lappin, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. He said he didn’t have a choice other than to hold her and a deputy accountable for their actions. Nanos denied placing a gag order on Lappin and the deputy, but AZPM obtained a memo from Lappin’s boss saying “you are not to discuss this matter until it is concluded.”
Preschool opinions: Candidates for Pima County supervisor seats are mixed in their support of the Pima Early Education Program scholarships, the Sentinel’s Jim Nintzel reports. The scholarships started in 2021 and help pay for kids to attend early education programs at local schools. The county spent about $10 million on the program in fiscal 2024.
Tough choices: Vineyard owners in Sonoita and Willcox are doing their best to adapt to climate change, Jimmy Magahern reports for Inside Tucson Business. The area has been getting worldwide acclaim, but drought and high temperatures in recent years are forcing vineyard owners to consider moving locations or plant different types of grapes, among other ways to adapt.
1,623: Ballots returned by Pima County voters between the ages of 18 and 24 as of October 16. That’s more than every other age bracket except voters aged 65 to 74, according to data from Uplift Campaigns.
Both of the independent expenditure totals for McGarr and Jones include the money spent opposing Volk.
David Mehl also moved boundaries to protect Wendy Rogers and Sine Kerr. I hope Hobbs is thinking ahead about the 2031 AIRC and paying attention to the members of the Commission on Appellate Appointments.