PHOENIX — Republicans could end up having to share power with Democrats for the next two years in the state Senate.
It turns on a couple of close races.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrat John McLean was outpolling Republican Vince Leach by about 2,100 votes in the fight over who will represent LD 17 in the Senate.
That district, which includes areas on the northern and eastern edge of Tucson and into southern Pinal County, skews Republican.
But the race became complicated when Justine Wadsack, who ousted Leach in the 2022 GOP primary, lost this year’s primary race. And Wadsack, rather than supporting Leach, became a critic.
A win by McLean would divide the Senate 15-15.
But the Democrats still are hoping to take actual control by targeting Republican Sen. Shawnna Bolick in LD 2, a politically competitive district in north Phoenix.
They put up current state Rep. Judy Schwiebert, who had been a state representative in the same district.
Results Wednesday showed Bolick leading by 1,212 votes out of more than 66,000 votes tallied so far.
Still, Maricopa County said late Wednesday afternoon it still had hundreds of thousands of ballots to process.
Even the ability of Democrats to share power with Republicans depends on whether Sen. Brian Fernandez of Yuma can hang onto his seat in LD 23. His lead over Republican Michelle Altherr was less than 1,000 votes with more than 44,000 already counted.
And Arizona law says any race where the margin of victory is less than 0.5% requires a mandatory recount.
The last time Democrats had full control of the Arizona Senate was in 1991 and 1992. That was the same year the race for governor was so tight there had to be a runoff between Republican Fife Symington, who eventually won, and Democrat Terry Goddard.
There was a power-sharing agreement after the 2000 election, which saw Republican lose power in the wake of the “alt-fuels” scandal. That was poorly crafted legislation by the GOP to encourage people to buy such vehicles or switch their power trains to something other than gasoline. It cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Democrats agreed to give their votes for Senate president to moderate Republican Randall Gnant in exchange for being allowed to chair several key panels, including the Appropriations Committee.
The state House, however, has been a different picture, with Republicans in control since 1966. They currently hold a 31-29 margin.
This year it appears that Democrat Kevin Volk will take one of the two seats in LD 17, outpolling Republican Reps. Rachel Jones, who gets to stay, and Cory McGarr, who came in third in the three-way race.
But that win may end up being offset by Democratic losses elsewhere.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Jennifer Pawlik of Chandler did not seek reelection in her politically competitive LD 13, with Brandy Reese taking her place on the ticket. Reese was losing to incumbent Republican Julie Willoughby and to Jeff Weninger, who previously represented the district but left in 2022 in an ill-fated bid to be the GOP nominee for state treasurer.
Also falling short is Democrat Keith Seaman, who had served one term representing LD 16, which encompasses most of Pinal County and stretches into northeast Pima County.
Republican House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez won another term and will be joined in that district by fellow Republican Chris Lopez.
An election worker prepares ballots before placing them into a tabulation machine at the Pima County Elections Department on Wednesday.
