Abortion law in Arizona has evolved for months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which for nearly 50 years guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. The justices ruled that states can set their own abortion laws without any federal standards protecting abortion access.

Democrats have led the fight for reproductive freedom while Republicans have led efforts to restrict access to abortion. Yet polls suggest that while Proposition 139 should pass easily, that doesn’t mean Arizonans will largely support Democrats down the ballot.

Other high-profile races in the state include:

• Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. Republican incumbent David Schweikert entered a tight race against Democrat Amish Shahemergency room doctor and former state lawmaker, in Arizona’s wealthiest congressional district. Schweikert, a seven-term congressman, is a liberal Republican, while Shah is a “practical” Democrat who won a highly charged six-way primary. The race is considered a draw.
• Arizona’s 6th congressional district. In a 2022 rematch, incumbent Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., faces former Democratic lawmaker Kirsten Engelan environmental lawyer whom he beat with less than 2% of the vote. Ciscomani is a liberal Republican and served as an aide to former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. The race is considered a draw. Arizona’s congressional delegation is now 6-3 Republicans, so flipping both seats could tip the delegation toward the Democrats.
• The Arizona Legislature. Control of 90 seats in the Arizona Legislature is up for grabs. Republicans control the state House of Representatives by a 31-29 margin, but Democrats say they’ve had their best shot in more than half a century take control of this room. It’s a familiar refrain: They tried in 2018, then again in 2020. And again in 2022, but they hope this year will be different.
• Maricopa County Recorder. The registrar oversees the conduct of elections in the county, and former politicians in office have pushed massive changes in how their county votes. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer lost his primary » to Republican lawmaker Justin Heap, who is facing Democratic candidate Timothy Stringham. Richer was widely criticized by conspiracy theorists for defending the 2020 election results and Heap avoided questions about whether he believed the 2020 election was rigged. (There is no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged, although conspiracy theorists continue to baselessly insist that it was).

• Maricopa County Sheriff. For the first time in decades, a sitting sheriff is not in the general election race. The race for sheriff in 2024 goes to Democrat Tyler Kamp and Republican Jerry Sheridan. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is one of the largest sheriff’s offices in the country, with more than 3,000 employees, including deputies, jail guards and civilians. Several voters told the Arizona Republic during the primary that they supported Sheridan because they believed he would bring back the tactics of the era of former sheriff Joe Arpaiowho introduced himself as “the toughest sheriff in America.”
• Phoenix mayoral race. Incumbent Mayor Kate Gallego will face Republican challenger Matt Evans, a software engineer who failed to campaigned for the District 2 city council seat in 2022. Evans, a Republican, said he is running to bring a fresh perspective to the Phoenix City Council and end the streak of Democratic mayors.
• Proposition 314, the immigration ballot measure. Titled the “Border Security Act”, proposition 314 would classify illegal border crossing as a state crime and aims to grant the state more authority over the federally managed international border. Critics say the measure highlights the darkest days of immigration in Arizona and would stoke fear in communities, separate families and lead to increased racial discrimination by law enforcement.