Vince Leach is ahead of state Sen. Justine Wadsack in the GOP primary in District 17.Β
The most recent vote totals Wednesday morning showΒ Leach leading with 51.5% of the votes compared to 48.5% for Wadsack. That is with 97% of the precincts reporting.
"I'm feeling good," Leach said in a phone interview with the Arizona Daily Star on Wednesday. "The numbers continue to grow, but I'm not about to claim victory until it's clear."
Leach said that he's been "running on fumes and adrenaline," and made sure to thank his campaign team and his wife.
"I hope that by tonight, the votes in LD-17 are finalized and voters will know the results of the race," he added.
Leach previously held the Senate seat before he lost in the Republican primary to Wadsack two years ago. Now he's back and hoping to regain his seat.
Wadsack recently made news after being pulled over in March for going 71 mph in a 35-mph zone on Speedway. She later claimed "political persecution" after being pulled over.
The current state senator is well known for her culture-wars attacks in the state senate, as well as her stark black hair and ruby red lipstick, which usually matches the bright red "Make America Great Again" hat she frequently dons.
Leach launched his challenge aiming to be a more traditional candidate than Wadsack, who has made headlines for turning her back to Governor Katie Hobbs during the 2023 State of the State remarks, doing a photoshoot at the Capitol brandishing a machine gun and sponsoring a bill to ban books about transgender and nonbinary teens, despite not having read the book that inspired the legislation.
Wadsack has also liked social media posts spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terrorist attack and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the lives of 19 elementary school students and two teachers.
Though Leach has promised to be a less controversial candidate, the two politicians have relatively similar conservative policies.Β
Two years ago, Wadsack beat Leach in a three-way primary race, earning 40.9% of the vote, or 16,329 of the ballots cast. Leach, the then-incumbent, finished second with 35.5%, or 14,161 votes, and Robert Barr, another challenger, won 23.6%, or 9,407 votes.
In the general election, Wadsack won by a fairly narrow margin of 3,000 votes against her Democratic opponent, winning 51.2% of the votes.
The district contains 63 precincts in Pima County and five in Pinal County, with a total of 175,483 registered voters.
