The Republican field for State Treasurer grew, then shrank, as first State Representative Jeff Weninger joined the field, then State Representative Regina Cobb quit the race. State Senator David Livingston, the first GOP candidate to enter the race, is still running for the position, which will be open in 2022 because current State Treasurer Kimberly Yee is running for Governor.
The musical chairs made more sense after Cobb endorsed Weninger and explained that she had decided to drop out to pursue a government relations position and called Weninger to encourage him to run. The Livingston – Cobb matchup was expected to be a tough race for Cobb, with her anti-Trump history creating difficulties compared to the pro-Trump Livingston, while a Livingston – Weninger race will have a different dynamic.
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“To a certain degree, the two candidates are similar ideologically, and both have run small businesses and can give standard speeches about signing the fronts of checks, not just the backs.” said one Arizona consultant, who added “That means it may come down to style more than substance for Weninger, while Livingston will likely stress his finance background as being a better fit for the Treasurer’s office.”
Others believe the Trump factor will still play a part. “Livingston has been a warrior for election integrity efforts, he has voted for the audit, the county subpoenas, etc, and he’s been a very vocal supporter of President Trump for years. Weninger can’t claim any of that, and it will make a difference to voters who might otherwise be struggling to differentiate between the two of them.” said a northern Arizona activist who is still undecided on who to support.
The biggest challenge for any candidate may be getting noticed altogether. The race is expected to be drowned out by candidates for Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and other races, that will be spending tens of millions of dollars to reach voters.