GOP primed to make another pickup in state House races, expanding their majority
Republicans on Thursday took the lead in a hotly contested northeast Phoenix race for the state House of Representatives, setting the stage for the GOP to increase their majority by two seats when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January.
After ballots were tallied Thursday, Pamela Carter surged past Kelli Butler, a Democrat who had been clinging to a 150-vote lead for the second House seat in Legislative District 4. The race was led by Matt Gress, a Republican who handily won reelection in the swing district.
Butler, a former legislator, was aiming to hold on to the seat that Democrat Laura Terech won in 2022. She now trails Carter, a first-time candidate, by more than 1,100 votes. Republicans were already poised to pick up one House seat, and a Carter victory would give the GOP 33 seats in the 60-member chamber.
Democrats were ambitious in 2024, aiming to knock Republicans from power in the House after nearly 60 years of uninterrupted GOP control. District 4 may ultimately serve as an example of how their aggressive strategy backfired — leaving them not only without a majority, but with fewer seats.
https://azmirror.com/2024/11/07/gop-primed-to-make-another-pickup-in-state-house-races-expanding-their-majority/