In Arizona’s Legislative District 4, a GOP incumbent is trying to keep a grip on his seat by appealing to moderates, while his Democratic opponents who are working to flip the seat go after his record on abortion rights and gun control. The outcome of the District 4 race could determine if Republicans keep their slim hold on control at the legislature, or if it flips to Democratic control for the first time in more than 60 years.
Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, was Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s budget director before he was elected to represent District 4 in 2022. He was the top vote-getter in the race, ahead of the only Democrat that ran, Laura Terech, who didn’t seek reelection this year and resigned from the legislature in June.
This year, Gress and former Trump campaign advisor Pamela Carter are facing off against two Democratic candidates, former state Rep. Kelli Butler and Madison Elementary School Board President Karen Gresham.
Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, was Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s budget director before he was elected to represent District 4 in 2022. He was the top vote-getter in the race, ahead of the only Democrat that ran, Laura Terech, who didn’t seek reelection this year and resigned from the legislature in June.
This year, Gress and former Trump campaign advisor Pamela Carter are facing off against two Democratic candidates, former state Rep. Kelli Butler and Madison Elementary School Board President Karen Gresham.
Democrats hope to win 2 seats in a wealthy northeast Valley district
To win big in LD4, they’ll have to knock off a GOP lawmaker who has made bipartisan cooperation part of his brand
- Pamela Carter, who did not respond to multiple interview requests, is a Christian minister who said in 2022 that she “would say no on any abortion.”
- While Carter, who badly lost a bid for Scottsdale City Council in 2022, claimed on her website to have the full support of her family, that’s not true.
- Her sister, actress Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1976 television series, has endorsed her older sister’s Democratic opponents.
September 13, 2024
Lynda Carter’s Sister Is Running in a Key Arizona Race. Wonder Woman Is Sounding the Alarm.
Pamela Carter, a right-wing abortion foe, claims to have her family’s “full support” for her candidacy. Not exactly.
The younger Carter is a staunch pro-choice advocate who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
- Gress has out-fundraised all of the other candidates in the LD4 race by a longshot, bringing in $406,715 ahead of the July primary, according to campaign finance reports.
- In the same time frame Butler brought in $196,714,
- Gresham raised $184,467 and Carter collected $84,988.
- Democrats haven’t controlled the state House since the 1960s, and except for two years when the chamber was evenly split, Republicans have ruled over the Arizona Senate since the 1990s.
- But with Katie Hobbs in the Governor’s Office, if they manage to flip both chambers, Democrats would have more power in state government than they’ve had in more than 60 years.
“I’m pretty confident that we are at least going to get to a tie, if not get a majority,” Butler said.
Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to flip the legislature for the past few elections, but they believe 2024 is their best chance yet, while Republicans are working to hold onto their slim majority.
LINK >> AZ Mirror
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