Mark Finchem Set to Unseat Ken Bennett and Reclaim Arizona Senate Seat

Former lawmaker Mark Finchem is leading the race to unseat state Sen. Ken Bennett in a northern Arizona legislative district, according to early election results. Finchem holds a margin of over seven percentage points, amounting to a lead of nearly 2,000 votes.

Finchem, who previously served in the legislature for a decade representing districts in Pima and Pinal counties, moved to Prescott last year to challenge Bennett. This move followed his unsuccessful bid in 2022 for the position of Arizona’s chief elections official, where he lost to Democrat Adrian Fontes by 120,000 votes and unsuccessfully contested the outcome in court.

Known for his stance on election denialism, Finchem was involved in a failed lawsuit against electronic voting tabulators, partnering with Republican Kari Lake in that effort. The courts deemed the case frivolous and sanctioned their attorneys.

Bennett’s political career began when he was elected to the state Senate in 1999, later becoming Senate President in 2003. He was appointed Secretary of State in 2009 and challenged Doug Ducey in the 2018 GOP primary for governor, a race he lost. Three years ago, Bennett embraced election denialism as the liaison for the state Senate’s audit of the 2020 election. He won his Senate seat again in 2022 and has since taken stands that sometimes defied his party’s majority.

This year, Bennett voted against an anti-trans ballot referral, drawing the ire of many in his party. He also cast the deciding vote on a referral aimed at preventing cities from taxing vehicle miles traveled. Another contentious vote involved a ballot referral allowing local police to jail migrants, where Bennett conditioned his support on revisions to protect undocumented residents already in the state and to limit police authority.

Steve Zipperman, also in the race, trails significantly with just 18% of the votes. Zipperman, a U.S. Army veteran, real estate broker, and lawyer, has previously run and lost against Bennett in 2022. His campaign focuses on strong borders, parental rights in schools, and upholding the second amendment.