Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott won the Democratic nomination for the County's District 1 Supervisor race, taking 66.5% of the votes counted, unofficial results as of Wednesday afternoon show.
Democrat challenger Jake Martin received 33.5% of the votes counted so far.Β
Votes counted so far come from early ballots and were released Tuesday night by the Pima County Elections Department via the Arizona Secretary of State's Office's results page.
Scott will now see a challenge from RepublicanΒ Steve SpainΒ in the Nov. 5 general election, who ScottΒ narrowlyΒ beat in the November 2020 election to become the District's first Democratic supervisor since 1992.
In a statement sent to the Star Tuesday night, the incumbent said he is "grateful and honored" to be chosen as the Democratic nominee once again.
"Four years ago, I became the first Democrat since 1972 to win in our district.Β We will defend this seat by running on our record of common sense, service and results," Scott wrote. "My sincere thanks to Jake Martin, who ran a campaign that was a testament to his commitment to our community and his personal integrity."
"Jake and I promised to run positive, issues-oriented campaigns when we both got into this race. Democrats in our district should be proud that we both never strayed from that pledge," he said.
Martin, his opponent, is a 21-year-old full-time student at the University of Arizona. In 2018, he founded the nonprofitΒ Survivor Shield FoundationΒ in 2021, which provides emergency financial aid to of sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.Β
During his first term, Scott said, he emphasized "that the countyβs essential duty is to make sure that all the services and supports our constituents depend on are delivered with equity, responsiveness to their needs and respect for the public revenues entrusted to us."
Since taking office in 2021, Scott has served as vice chair of the Board and chair of the Pima Association of GovernmentsΒ (PAG) Regional Council; he also serves as the countyβs representative on the Regional Transportation AuthorityΒ (RTA) Board.
"Public health and safety, roads and infrastructure, increasing our housing stock and reducing barriers to access to quality early childhood education have been key areas of focus. I see policy making as synonymous with problem solving, always with the goal of improving the quality of life for the people we serve," he wrote. "Going into the general election, I will continue to keep my focus on the issues our constituents care about. As Iβve done as their supervisor, I will devote most of my time to reaching out to them, listening to their concerns and describing how I will serve our community if granted another term. My hope is that they will give me another four years to be their voice and their advocate within county government."
The primary election lets voters pick nominees for federal, state and county offices. Independent voters can partake in the primaries, but they must choose one of the two party ballots.
You must register by Oct. 7 to vote in the November election.
