2024 Primary Election Outcomes Revealed

Early results are in for the Tuesday, July 20, 2024, Primary Election.

Municipal Elections

In Sedona, incumbent Scott Jablow secured a victory over challenger John Martinez, a former vice mayor and councilman, with a vote tally of 1,278 to 902, representing 58.62% to 41.38% respectively.

For the Sedona City Council, three seats were contested. Holli Ploog received 1,569 votes, Derek Pfaff garnered 1,473 votes, and Kathy Kinsella took third place with 1,437 votes. Katherine Todd finished fourth with 890 votes. Votes were counted between different sectors of Sedona, covering West Sedona, the Chapel area, and Uptown.

In Cottonwood, Ann Shaw defeated appointed Councilman Michael Mathews for the mayor’s seat by 1,036 votes to 752, or 57.94% to 42.06%. The position was previously held by longtime Mayor Tim Elinski.

The Cottonwood council race for three open seats saw Bob Marks and Felicia Coates winning outright with 963 and 838 votes, respectively. Joy Mosley and Lindsay Masten will compete in a November runoff, having secured 695 and 641 votes each. Other candidates included Bill Tinnin with 531 votes, Heather Piper White with 438, and incumbent Helaine Kurot with 337. Holly Grigaitis, whose residency issues prevent her from serving, received 341 votes.

In Camp Verde, the incumbent Dee Jenkins fended off a challenge from former mayor Charlie German, winning 934 votes (55.04%) to German’s 763 (44.96%).

For the contested Camp Verde Town Council seats, none of the candidates met the 712-vote threshold required for outright victory. Jackie Baker and Jessie Murdock, along with Terry Andrews, Brian Bolton, Kai Buchanan, Robert Foreman, Dave Inman, Jerry “Geronimo” Martin, Thomas “T.C.” Noble, and Patricia Seybold, all competed. Murdock led the pack with 681 votes, followed by Foreman (494), Baker (457), Seybold (448), and Bolton (433). These six will proceed to a runoff. Others were eliminated from the race.

In Clarkdale, current Mayor Robyn Prud’Homme-Bauer won against Cynthia Malla, with a final count of 491 to 404 votes.

For the town’s two council positions, incumbents Marney Babbitt-Pierce with 483 votes and Debbie Hunseder with 434 votes retained their seats. Amanda Arnold and Nathan Porter trailed with 263 and 403 votes, respectively.

Jerome’s mayoral race featured candidates running at-large. Incumbent Mayor Christina “Alex” Barber leads with 65 votes. Vice Mayor Jane Moore holds 62 votes, and challengers Sonia Sheffield, Dr. Jack Dillenberg, and Issam “Izzy” Sharif follow with 54, 51, and 47 votes, respectively. Write-in candidate Cole Vasquez is at 10 votes. Barber is projected to continue as mayor if the vote totals stay consistent.

County Elections

In Yavapai County District 3, Donna Michaels faced Nikki Check for the Democratic nomination. Check defeated Michaels, obtaining 2,866 votes to Michaels’ 1,111, or a decisive 72.08% to 27.92%. Check expressed gratitude to the voters and anticipation for the general election in November, where she will face Republican Lori Drake.

The Republican primary for Yavapai County District 2 saw incumbent James Gregory winning against Wiley Cline with 3,305 votes to 2,165. Gregory effectively secures his position given no Democratic challenger for the general election.

In Coconino County District 3, the primary included Democratic incumbent Adam Hess and Republicans Sean Golliher and Tammy Ontiveros. Ontiveros won against Golliher with a nearly 2-to-1 vote ratio, finalizing at 1,183 to 680 votes.