Watch: Arizona Congressional District 3 Republican primary debate

PHOENIX — Two Arizona Republicans who hope to flip the historically blue District 3 debated one another on May 22, 2024.

The two CD-3 Republican hopefuls hope to convince voters to pick them to represent the party in the primary election on July 30.

Whichever one wins the primary will show up as the Republican CD-3 option in the general election on Nov. 5.

Who are the two CD-3 Republican candidates?

The two Republicans who want to replace incumbent Rep. Ruben Gallego are:

• Jeff Zink, a former pastor who says he has fought to expose “the corruption in our elections and the invasion at our borders.”
• Jesús David Mendoza, a Colombian immigrant who has worked as an engineer. His website says he wants to cut spending and lower healthcare costs.

This isn’t Zink’s first time running for the seat. He previously lost to Gallego by over 50 percentage points in the 2022 general election.

Arizona Republicans looking to sway historically Democratic district

These two Republicans are expected to struggle against the winner of the Democratic primary.

That’s because CD-3 is considered the most Democratic district in Arizona. The district covers most of downtown, southern, western and downtown Phoenix, along with a swath of Glendale.

Political analysts believe the Democrat who wins the primary election will breeze through the general election.

Incumbent Gallego isn’t running for reelection because he is running to replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in the U.S. Senate.

What’s next after debate between CD-3 Republican candidates?

After the Republican debate, the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission will host a follow-up debate between three Democrats who want the seat at 6 p.m.

Three Democrats are scheduled to debate one another on multiple topics that will impact the community. They’re Yassamin Ansari, former vice mayor of Phoenix, Raquel Terán, a former Arizona senator and representative, and Duane M. Wooten, a physician.

Voters can watch the Democratic CD-3 primary debate here.