GOP’s Vince Leach Faces Narrow 304-Vote Lead Over Democrat John McLean in Tucson’s LD17 Showdown

Republican Vince Leach’s lead in the Legislative District 17 Senate race has decreased to 304 votes against Democrat John McLean, following an update from Pima County. Leach previously expanded his margin to 396 votes after the Saturday count.

As of the latest tally, Leach garnered 67,234 votes, while McLean, the former CEO of a local defense contractor, follows closely with 66,930 votes. This election marks McLean’s first foray into public office. Leach is a former state lawmaker who previously lost a primary election to current Senator Justine Wadsack in 2022 but made a comeback by defeating Wadsack in this year’s GOP primary.

Another notable race is occurring for two House seats, where Democrat Kevin Volk maintains a lead over Republican incumbents Cory McGarr and Rachel Jones. Volk is currently ahead with 35 percent of the vote, while Jones has 33 percent and McGarr 32 percent, giving Volk a lead of over 6,300 votes against McGarr.

Despite the competitive races, officials indicate that a significant number of votes are still pending in this Republican-leaning legislative district. Precincts within Legislative District 17 include areas in Pinal County’s Saddlebrooke, as well as Pima County’s Oro Valley and Marana, alongside Tucson’s East Side and Vail.

As of now, Pima County has counted 445,287 ballots, with approximately 79,442 remaining. This total includes 3,025 ballots pending signature verification and 7,618 provisional ballots, which may not be counted in the final results. Voters had until Sunday to address any issues with their ballots.

Pinal County reports having counted 209,921 ballots, with an estimated 4,023 left to process, including 3,723 provisional ballots. Although Republicans hold a 9-percentage-point voter-registration edge in LD17, Democrats are optimistic about potentially capturing seats in this area, spurred by victories in the district by statewide candidates like Mark Kelly and Katie Hobbs in 2022.

Election officials are now engaged in validating the remaining mail-in ballots through signature checks, a process set to extend into next week. The final tallies across the state are not expected until then, given voters’ opportunity to verify their ballots for any discrepancies.

Legislative District 17 is pivotal for the balance of power in the upcoming legislative session, alongside Districts 16 and 23. In District 16, GOP candidate Chris Lopez leads Democratic Rep. Keith Seaman by 3,586 votes. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. T.J. Shope is ahead with 56 percent of the vote against Seaman’s daughter, Stacey.

In District 23, Democrats struggle to unseat a Republican in the House race. Republican Michele Peña leads with 29,478 votes against Democratic state Rep. Mariana Sandoval’s 27,314 votes and fellow Democrat Matias Rosales’s 25,690 votes. This is a challenge for Democrats, despite the district traditionally leaning in their favor.

Yuma County alone has about 29,328 votes still uncounted after tallying 40,963 ballots by Sunday. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Sen. Brian Fernandez has secured 51 percent of votes against Republican Michelle Altherr in his contest.