By Daniel Stefanski |
This week, national Republican and Democrat candidates for President of the United States met the filing deadline to appear on a March 19th election ballot in the Grand Canyon State. Nine Republicans and seven Democrats will be on the ballot for voters of their respective parties to choose from.
The 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, headlines the Republican side, which also includes fellow challengers Ron DeSantis (Governor of Florida), Nikki Haley (former Ambassador to the United Nations), Chris Christie (former Governor of New Jersey), and Vivek Ramaswamy (Entrepreneur).
President Joe Biden, the 46th American Commander in Chief, overshadows the field for his Democrat Party.
A fair number of candidates with significant name ID remain on the Republican side in addition to the former president, but the choices for Republicans will likely be whittled down to two candidates by the time March 19th rolls around – thanks to several primaries in states around the country before Arizona’s contest. In 2016, the last time the state hosted a competitive Republican preference election, Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz were essentially the last two candidates standing in Arizona, even though more names were on the ballot.
Though there are more than three months remaining until the Arizona Presidential Preference Election, former President Trump appears to have a commanding lead over any of his Republican competitors. According to a November poll of the primary field by Noble Predictive Insights, Trump’s numbers in the November survey grew to 53% of the Republican electorate (up from 50% in July), while Governor Ron DeSantis lost three points (19% from 16%). Ambassador Nikki Haley doubled her standing from the July report, acquiring eight percent of the Arizona GOP field (from four percent in July). Vivek Ramaswamy remained at nine percent.
A recent AZ Free News voter poll conducted by Data Orbital also revelead that nearly 4.5 percent more of Arizona voters prefer former President Donald Trump over current President Joe Biden
The primaries and causes will soon start when the calendar turns to 2024, and candidates look to shore up the requisite number of delegates to win their party’s nomination. On Monday, January 15, Iowans will caucus to kick off the election schedule. New Hampshire will then follow on Tuesday, January 23. There will be 14 states holding primary elections on ‘Super Tuesday,’ March 5.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
