Record outside spending floods Arizona as Dems launch furious down-ballot fight

In a move that underscores the high stakes of Arizona’s legislative elections, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced today it will pump nearly $1 million into targeted races across the state, adding to the $8.5 million that’s already been spent by outside groups in a handful of key districts. Similarly, in the Senate race for District 2, which includes much of north Phoenix, outside spending has reached nearly $1.42 million, dwarfing the $841,000 raised by GOP Sen. Shawnna Bolick and her Democratic challenger, Rep. Judy Schwiebert — a figure that itself is staggering and far beyond what legislative hopefuls have traditionally raised in Arizona. The data shows some intriguing patterns in the outside spending: The most expensive race is in Legislative District 13’s House contest, where combined IE spending has exceeded $1.6 million.Senate races generally favor Republicans in IE support, with pro-GOP spending leading in three out of five key Senate races.House races have seen more pro-Democrat IE support, with four out of six key races favoring Democrats in outside spending. The top outside groups spending in battleground legislative races are: Future Freedoms, which is supporting DemocratsResponsible Leadership for AZ, which is supporting RepublicansHouse Victory Fund, which is supporting RepublicansArizona Senate Victory Fund PAC, which is supporting RepublicansStand For Children Arizona, which is supporting Democrats!function{"use strict";window.addEventListener{if{var e=document.querySelectorAll;forfor(var r=0;rPolitical observers note that this influx of outside money reflects the competitiveness of these races and their potential to decide control of the legislature.