Lea Marquez Peterson announced on Thursday her intention to run in the Congressional District 2 Republican Primary. Marquez Peterson’s announcement signals that Congresswoman Martha McSally will enter the U.S. Senate Republican Primary.
Marquez Peterson, president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, will officially launch her campaign on December 14, at the Viscount Suite Hotel, in Tucson, Arizona.
Marquez Peterson’s announcement was expected earlier this year. It is believed that McSally has vacillated between staying put in CD2, or jumping into the Senate race. McSally, who won the CD2 seat by narrowest of margins, is disliked by both democrats and republicans in southern Arizona. Unlike Marquez Peterson, who is a life-long Arizonan, McSally relocated to southern Arizona from Germany when former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords retired. It is widely believed that McSally had virtually no chance at re-election this season and the Senate is her best chance to remain in Congress.