Early voters have given Democrat Priya Sundareshan a five-point lead in the District 18 Senate primary.
With about 25,000 early ballots counted, Sundareshan, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Arizona, had 53% support. Her competitor Morgan Abraham, an affordable housing developer and military intelligence officer in the Army Reserve, had 47%.
Early ballot totals were the only results available from the Arizona Secretary of State as of 10 p.m. Aug. 2.
Senate District 18 includes the Catalina Foothills, Casas Adobes and a swath of Tucson north of Broadway, east of Country Club Road and west of Camino Seco. Both Democratic hopefuls live in Tucson.
Sundareshan 37, says her top issues include climate change, the state’s dwindling water supply and increasing public investment in green energy sources such as solar and wind power. She supports “common-sense” gun safety laws, access to abortion, and measures to make voting easier such as restoring and improving the permanent early voter list. She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and two University of Arizona degrees, a juris doctor and a masters in natural resource economics.
Abraham, 30, has been a member of the Arizona House of Representatives since December when he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the District 10 House seat. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA, both from the University of Arizona. His campaign website morganabraham.com says he supports increased funding for education, housing, health care and environmental protection. He is pro-choice on abortion and supports gun safety measures such as tighter background checks, red flag laws and safe storage requirements.
The winner will run in November against Republican Stan Caine, 59, a retired employee of the U.S. Department of Defense.
