The race for Arizona’s 4th Congressional District is shaping up to be a very competitive one.
Redistricting changes to the district lines and the national environment are thought to be the main reasons why Republicans are targeting the seat.
Redistricting drastically changed the partisan makeup of AZ-4. Prior to redistricting, when it was known as the 9th district before the boundaries and numbers were changed, Nate Silver’s ffivethirtyeight gave the district a partisan rating of D+15. The current district has a D+1 partisan rating. That’s a 14-point partisan swing towards Republicans.
The incumbent is U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09) and he is running for reelection, per his campaign office. Stanton has raised $1,022,379.06 and has a war chest of $1,564,636.07 cash on hand as of the December 31, 2021 deadline.
After U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) vacated the 9th district’s seat, Stanton was elected in 2018, and he has served in office since 2019. Prior to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Stanton served as mayor of Phoenix.
Stanton is a rubber-stamp for the Biden agenda. According to fivethirtyeight’s congressional vote tracker, Stanton has voted with the Biden administration 100% of the time. Those votes include legislation that would impose a federal government takeover of elections and an increase to the debt limit, create a position in the State Department that monitors Islamophobia around the world and a pro-abortion measure that would codify Roe v. Wade, and would admit Washington, D.C. as a state.
Stanton also encouraged the Biden administration to withhold federal funding for Arizona schools if the state’s ban on school mask mandates were not eliminated.
Former United States Marine Kelly Cooper and former Phoenix Suns executive Tanya Contreras Wheeless currently leads the GOP field in fundraising as of December 31, 2021.
Cooper has raised $378,179.22 and has $349,322.11 on hand in the bank. Contreras Wheeless’ report shows that she’s raised $323,678.45 and has $214,276.88 on hand.
Cooper says on his website, “The path of my life has shaped and developed me to be someone to bring people together and represent the needs of the whole community. I am looking to represent my community and help the people of Arizona both seize opportunity as well as create more. Self-determination, desire, and drive has been the key to my life. Let’s make sure Arizona keeps and expands opportunity for all.”
Contreras Wheeless’ website describes her as a “lawyer, business association CEO, sports executive with the Phoenix Suns, small business owner, and community advocate she understands the impact that policy can have on our lives.”
Both candidates’ websites list backing police, border security, the economy, and veterans issues as topics that are important to their campaigns.
The Republican primary is scheduled to take place on August 2. The filing deadline is coming up on April 4.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at theArizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Tanya Contreras Wheeless” by Tanya Contreras Wheeless, photo “Kelly Cooper” by Kelly Cooper and photo Arizona State Capitol by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.
