Just a year after knocking off an incumbent, Sen. Vince Leach says he will not run for re-election.
Leach, a Republican, beat then-Sen. Justine Wadsack in the July 2024 primary election and went on to win the seat in Legislative District 17.
Leach
That’s the district, designed to give GOP voters in Southern Arizona representation at the Legislature, that goes from Marana, across the Santa Catalinas, and reaches down the east side of the Tucson metro area to Vail.
On Thursday, Leach explained he made the decision not to run again after discussions with his wife. He declined to elaborate.
The decision opens up a Legislative seat that Republicans and Democrats will contest aggressively.
Leach won by a 51-49 over Democrat John Mclean in 2024, and that was also the margin when Wadsack won in 2022 of Democrat Mike Nickerson.
Leach was first elected to the state House in 2014, and four years later won election to the Senate. He served in that chamber until the 2022 primary loss, then picked up where he left off two years later, albeit in a redistricted area.
“I would like to thank you for the mentorship you’ve given me during my tenure with the Legislature,” he said in a social media post. “It was an honor to work alongside you and learn how to become a true professional.”
In an interview, Leach said he was especially proud of passing the 2.5% flat income tax in 2021. He also noted that while he was in office, “through attrition and right-sizing government, there were 5,000 less people on the (Arizona) government payroll without suffering any loss of performance.”
Leach was considered a conservative legislator before his losing run in 2022. That year, GOP rivals painted him as too willing to work with Democrats.
“I’m not so far right that I’m a libertarian, but I’m solidly on the right side of a left-right spectrum,” he said Thursday.
Leach and his wife Charlene moved to Arizona from Wisconsin in 2007, settling in Saddlebrooke.
Hobbs, Gallego miss Douglas event
If there’s one thing that is a big deal in Douglas, it’s the new port of entry, which got under construction last month.
When officials put together a groundbreaking ceremony for Sept. 5, they got commitments from Arizona’s top three elected officials to be there — Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego and Gov. Katie Hobbs.
On Sept. 5, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Mayor of Douglas Jose Grijalva and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials attended a “ground-breaking” event for a new border port. Gov. Katie Hobbs cited “travel issues” for missing the event she’d committed to attending. Sen. Ruben Gallego missed it too because Hobbs was his ride to the event.
But when it time to break out the golden shovels last Friday, only Kelly was there. Hobbs’s absence was a bit of a surprise, Douglas Mayor Jose Grijalva said.
“I was disappointed. She pulled out around 8 or 9 p.m. the day before. We were disappointed because we had to go through federal protocols for her.”
In the end, Hobbs did visit Sierra Vista, 55 miles to the west, that day, but didn’t make it over to Douglas. Her office blamed travel issues, the Sierra Vista-based Herald/Review reported.
“We ran into some last minute travel issues that prevented the governor from being able to attend the ceremony,” said Hobbs’ spokesperson, Liliana Soto, in an email.
Since Gallego was planning to hitch a ride with Hobbs, he also missed the event, which took place the day that rain was forecast due to the remnants of Hurricane Lorena.
Kelly ribbed his Democratic colleagues for missing the event, the newspaper reported.
“I was looking forward to being here with the governor and Senator Gallego,” Kelly said. “I understand they had some airplane trouble. They should have called. We could have helped them out.”
Dem drops out of CD6 race
Chris Donat has decided to end his campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Congressional District 6.
In a news release, Donat said, “This was a difficult decision, made as a result of the financial realities of the race.
Chris Donat
A mechanical engineer, Donat said he wanted greater representation of scientists and engineers in Congress.
“We are facing complex challenges that require a new kind of expertise, yet so few of our elected officials have the technical background to understand the issues they are voting on,” he said in a press release.
JoAnna Mendoza is the leading candidate in the race, in terms of high-profile endorsements and money raised — more than $1.2 million so far. Donat had reported raising about $15,000.
Samantha Severson, Aiden Swallow and Johnathan Buma have also filed to run in the Democratic race. The winner will face Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani.
