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Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Aug. 4
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): July 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: July 8
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Aug. 4 (received)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| Arizona's 1st Congressional District |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: April 6, 2020 |
| Primary: August 4, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Tom O'Halleran (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Arizona |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Likely Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th Arizona elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
Incumbent Tom O'Halleran defeated challenger Eva Putzova in the Democratic primary for Arizona's 1st Congressional District on August 4, 2020. O'Halleran received 59% of the vote to Putzova's 41%. O'Halleran, a former Republican member of the state legislature, was first elected to the seat as a Democrat in 2016 and did not face a primary challenger in 2018.
At the time of the election, O'Halleran was the co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of Democratic members of the U.S. House which describes itself as an organization of "pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public."[1] O'Halleran served eight years as a Republican member of the state legislature. His endorsers included Everytown for Gun Safety, the League of Conservation Voters, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Putzova, a former member of the Flagstaff City Council and nonprofit administrator, said she was running to limit the amount of power held by corporations. She compared her policy agenda to the fight for freedom in her native Czechoslovakia during the communist era, saying she would fight for "Freedom from illness and medical bills, freedom from crushing student loan debt, freedom to enjoy a healthy life on this planet."[2] Putzova's endorsers included 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D), Brand New Congress, and Our Revolution.
As of June 30, 2020, O'Halleran had raised $2,000,000 to Putzova's $325,000. The only reported instances of satellite spending in the race were a $750 expenditure by Together We Thrive Super PAC and a $45 expenditure by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, both in support of O'Halleran.[3]
The 1st District was one of 30 districts nationwide held by a Democrat at the time of the 2020 election that Donald Trump (R) carried in 2016, and was the only such district in Arizona. Trump carried the district by a margin of 1.1 percentage points, while O'Halleran won re-election in 2018 by a margin of 7.7 percentage points. Click here to learn more about what's at stake in the general election.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Arizona utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may choose which party's primary they will vote in, but voters registered with a party can only vote in that party's primary.[4][5][6]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Click on candidate names below to view their key messages:
 O'Halleran |
 Putzova |
This page focuses on Arizona's 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
- Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Arizona made no changes to its August 4, 2020, primary election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom O'Halleran | 58.6 | 47,083 |
 | Eva Putzova  | 41.4 | 33,248 | |
| Total votes: 80,331 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Larry Williams (D)
- Barbara McGuire (D)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[7] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Assumed office: 2017)
Arizona State Senate (2007-2009)
Arizona House of Representatives (2001-2007)
Biography: A native of Chicago, O'Halleran joined the city's police force in 1966 and was promoted to officer and sergeant before being commissioned as a homicide investigator. O'Halleran joined the Chicago Board of Trade in 1979 and would serve two terms on its board of directors. After retiring from trading, O'Halleran relocated to Arizona.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 1 in 2020.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: Flagstaff City Council (2014-2018)
Biography: A native of Slovakia, Putzova moved to Flagstaff in 2000, working in the energy sector for three years before joining the staff of Northern Arizona University. At the time of her 2020 campaign, Putzova's most recent professional experience was as national communications and technology director for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a nonprofit group describing its mission as improving working conditions for restaurant workers. Putzova received a master's degree from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 1 in 2020.
Noteworthy primary endorsements
This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
| Democratic primary endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | O'Halleran | Putzova | ||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| Pinal Central[8] | ✔ | |||||
| Individuals | ||||||
| Former 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D)[9] | ✔ | |||||
| Organizations | ||||||
| 350 Action[10] | ✔ | |||||
| American Federation of Teachers[11] | ✔ | |||||
| Brand New Congress[10] | ✔ | |||||
| End Citizens United[12] | ✔ | |||||
| Everytown for Gun Safety[13] | ✔ | |||||
| Human Rights Campaign[14] | ✔ | |||||
| League of Conservation Voters[15] | ✔ | |||||
| NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC[16] | ✔ | |||||
| Our Revolution[10] | ✔ | |||||
| Planned Parenthood Action Fund[17] | ✔ | |||||
Campaign themes
- See also: Campaign themes
Tom O'Halleran
O'Halleran's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Jobs and the Economy Tom believes that in order for our economy to grow, we must end policies that pressure middle class families and take action to create good-paying jobs. The deck has been stacked against middle-class families and small businesses for too long. Hard-working Arizonans are having a hard time affording a basic standard of living, and many can no longer afford to send their own children to our state universities—that’s not right. Tom’s economic policies are aimed toward boosting the economy and supporting the small businesses and hard-working families who drive our economy. By investing in education, job-training, research, and infrastructure, we can keep our competitive advantage as a state and country and prepare for the jobs of the future. To keep our competitive edge, we must also modernize our tax and regulatory system to foster innovation and replace outdated or burdensome regulations. It is also time for the American public, whose wages have remained stagnant over decades, to receive a well-deserved raise and equal pay for equal work. In the 116th Congress, Tom voted to raise the the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next six years through annual increases. The U.S. economy is prosperous, but its rewards are going to corporations and the rich—people who work for a living have been cut out of the deal. That has to change. Natural resources and tourism are major components of Arizona’s economy. Tom O’Halleran has been a leader on forestry and water issues both inside and outside of the legislature, and led the effort to protect the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas from new uranium mining claims. He will continue his work to protect our natural resources for future generations and protect this vital part of our economy. Tom believes that we must leave future generations with more opportunities. Social Security and Medicare Many of the same politicians and special interests who would like to privatize Social Security also propose to end the Medicare guarantee. This would leave millions of American seniors struggling to pay the high cost of medical care and prescription drugs. This is unacceptable, and Tom O’Halleran will always fight against any attempt replace Medicare with a voucher scheme. Veterans The perpetual mismanagement of the VA hospitals around the country is unacceptable and has a detrimental impact to the health and well being of our veterans. This is not consistent with our values, and it is our obligation to ensure that the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces do not have to struggle to see their doctor. In many cases, the VA lacks the medical specialists to care for all the vets who need treatment. In these cases, veterans should be able to get the care they need outside the VA system, on the VA’s dime. While in the Arizona State Legislature, Tom led a successful effort that doubled the number of benefit counselors in the state of Arizona. Tom’s commitment is to continue this fight as long as any veteran has to wait a day too long for care or is not being provided the benefits they earned. In the House of Representatives, Tom has introduced legislation to clean up the VA, secure housing for homeless veterans in Pinal country, and create job and development opportunities for returned servicemembers in the solar industry. O'Halleran worked with his colleagues in Congress and local and state advocates to secure funding for new veterans homes in rural Arizona--one in Flagstaff and one in Yuma. Ground broke on the Flagstaff home in June of 2019. O'Halleran has also introduced additional legislation to construct veterans nursing homes on tribal lands. Caseworkers on O'Halleran's staff work tirelessly to return federal dollars and owed benefits to veterans and their families. Education While in the legislature, Tom led a bipartisan group that passed all-day kindergarten and made substantial investments in all levels of our schools, including research facilities at our three state universities that have been an economic driver and created good-paying jobs. Due in part to O'Halleran's efforts, Arizona has, in recent years, become a leader in technological innovation throughout the country. Among other education initiatives, Tom has fought for funding teacher salaries and to retain soft capital (money that goes toward books and computers). He worked to maintain funding for new schools and school maintenance, which helped local property tax payers not pay as high a rate as they otherwise would to maintain their schools. In the House of Representatives, he is a member of the Congressional Pre-K Caucus, and has fought for more substanstial funding to address crumbling, chronically underfunded Bureau of Indian Education schools across Arizona's First District. Immigration Tom supports immigration reform that secures our border, keeps families together, and meets the needs of our economy. He fully supports the DREAM Act, which allows young people who were brought to this country as children the chance to pursue their education, join the military, or contribute to our workforce as hardworking doctors, teachers, scientists, and more. Tom was an early supporter of the Gang of Eight's comprehensive immigration reform package that passed the U.S. Senate in 2013 with the help of Senator John McCain. This groundbreaking legislation failed in the House because it was never brought to the floor for a vote, a clear example of the kind of government Tom is fighting to correct. The broken immigration system disproportionately affects Arizona and fixing it is critical to our economy. Tom will work toward reform that keeps our communities safe, our economy strong, and our families together.[18] |
” |
| —Tom O'Halleran's campaign website (2020)[19] | ||
Eva Putzova
Putzova's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Medicare for All First People First Tuition-Free College Workers' Rights LGBTQ+ Rights A Green New Deal Reproductive Health Immigration Overhaul No More Wars |
” |
| —Eva Putzova's campaign website (2020)[20] | ||
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[21] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[22] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom O'Halleran | Democratic Party | $3,416,902 | $3,359,687 | $63,147 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Eva Putzova | Democratic Party | $419,050 | $398,166 | $20,883 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[23]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[24][25][26]
| Race ratings: Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
What's at stake in the general election?
U.S. House elections were held on November 3, 2020, and coincided with the 2020 presidential election. All 435 House districts were up for election, and the results determined control of the U.S. House in the 117th Congress.
At the time of the election, Democrats had a 232-197 advantage over Republicans. There was one Libertarian member, and there were five vacancies. Republicans needed to gain a net 21 seats to win control of the House. Democrats needed to gain seats or lose fewer than 14 net seats to keep their majority.
In the 2018 midterm election, Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats, winning a 235-200 majority in the House. Heading into the 2018 election, Republicans had a 235-193 majority with seven vacancies.
In the 25 previous House elections that coincided with a presidential election, the president's party had gained House seats in 16 elections and lost seats in nine. In years where the president's party won districts, the average gain was 18. In years where the president's party lost districts, the average loss was 27. Click here for more information on presidential partisanship and down-ballot outcomes.
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+2, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Arizona's 1st Congressional District the 218th most Republican nationally.[27]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.[28]
District represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016
This district was one of 30 Democratic-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.
| 2020 Democratic-held U.S. House districts won by Donald Trump in 2016 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | Ran in 2020? | 2018 congressional margin | 2016 presidential margin | 2012 presidential margin | ||||||||
| Arizona's 1st |  Tom O'Halleran |
Yes | Democrats+7.7 | Trump+1.1 | Romney+2.5 | ||||||||
| Georgia's 6th | Lucy McBath |
Yes | Democrats+1.0 | Trump+1.5 | Romney+23.3 | ||||||||
| Illinois' 14th | Lauren Underwood |
Yes | Democrats+5.0 | Trump+3.9 | Romney+10 | ||||||||
| Illinois' 17th | Cheri Bustos |
Yes | Democrats+24.2 | Trump+0.7 | Obama+17 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 1st | Abby Finkenauer |
Yes | Democrats+5.1 | Trump+3.5 | Obama+13.7 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 2nd | Dave Loebsack |
Retired | Democrats+5.2 | Trump+4.1 | Obama+13.1 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 3rd | Cindy Axne |
Yes | Democrats+2.2 | Trump+3.5 | Obama+4.2 | ||||||||
| Maine's 2nd | Jared Golden |
Yes | Democrats+1.3 | Trump+10.3 | Obama+8.6 | ||||||||
| Michigan's 8th | Elissa Slotkin |
Yes | Democrats+3.8 | Trump+6.7 | Romney+3.1 | ||||||||
| Michigan's 11th | Haley Stevens |
Yes | Democrats+6.7 | Trump+4.4 | Romney+5.4 | ||||||||
| Minnesota's 2nd | Angie Craig |
Yes | Democrats+5.5 | Trump+1.2 | Obama+0.1 | ||||||||
| Minnesota's 7th | Collin Peterson |
Yes | Democrats+4.3 | Trump+30.8 | Romney+9.8 | ||||||||
| Nevada's 3rd | Susie Lee |
Yes | Democrats+9.1 | Trump+1.0 | Obama+0.8 | ||||||||
| New Hampshire's 1st | Chris Pappas |
Yes | Democrats+8.6 | Trump+1.6 | Obama+1.6 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 3rd | Andrew Kim |
Yes | Democrats+1.3 | Trump+6.2 | Obama+4.6 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 5th | Josh Gottheimer |
Yes | Democrats+13.7 | Trump+1.1 | Romney+3.0 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 11th | Mikie Sherrill |
Yes | Democrats+14.6 | Trump+0.9 | Romney+5.8 | ||||||||
| New Mexico's 2nd | Xochitl Torres Small |
Yes | Democrats+1.9 | Trump+10.2 | Romney+6.8 | ||||||||
| New York's 11th | Max Rose |
Yes | Democrats+6.5 | Trump+9.8 | Obama+4.3 | ||||||||
| New York's 18th | Sean Maloney |
Yes | Democrats+10.9 | Trump+1.9 | Obama+4.3 | ||||||||
| New York's 19th | Antonio Delgado |
Yes | Democrats+5.2 | Trump+6.8 | Obama+6.2 | ||||||||
| New York's 22nd | Anthony Brindisi |
Yes | Democrats+1.8 | Trump+15.5 | Romney+0.4 | ||||||||
| Oklahoma's 5th | Kendra Horn |
Yes | Democrats+1.4 | Trump+13.4 | Romney+18.4 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania's 8th | Matt Cartwright |
Yes | Democrats+9.3 | Trump+9.6 | Obama+11.9 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania's 17th | Conor Lamb |
Yes | Democrats+12.5 | Trump+2.6 | Romney+4.5 | ||||||||
| South Carolina's 1st | Joe Cunningham |
Yes | Democrats+1.4 | Trump+13.1 | Romney+18.1 | ||||||||
| Utah's 4th | Ben McAdams |
Yes | Democrats+0.3 | Trump+6.7 | Romney+37.0 | ||||||||
| Virginia's 2nd | Elaine Luria |
Yes | Democrats+2.2 | Trump+3.4 | Romney+2.3 | ||||||||
| Virginia's 7th | Abigail Spanberger |
Yes | Democrats+1.9 | Trump+6.5 | Romney+10.5 | ||||||||
| Wisconsin's 3rd | Ron Kind |
Yes | Democrats+19.3 | Trump+4.5 | Obama+11 | ||||||||
| Source: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Daily Kos | |||||||||||||
Click here to see the five U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
See also
- Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
- Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in Arizona, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Arizona, 2020 (August 4 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Blue Dog Coalition, "About Us," accessed July 24, 2020
- ↑ Youtube, "People First," June 24, 2020
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Arizona District 01 Race 2020 - Outside Spending," accessed July 24, 2020
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 19, 2024
- ↑ Citizens Clean Elections Commission, "Primary Election," accessed July 19, 2024
- ↑ Arizona State Legislature, "Arizona Revised Statutes 16-467," accessed July 19 2024
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ [https://twitter.com/TomOHalleran/status/1285629325799239682 Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on July 21, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Eva Putzova on January 19, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Eva Putzova 2020 campaign website, "Home," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on July 31, 2020," accessed July 31, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on January 21, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on July 13, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on May 21, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ [https://twitter.com/TomOHalleran/status/1283166969513091076 Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on July 14, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ [https://twitter.com/TomOHalleran/status/1281057488679436288 Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on July 8, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tom O'Halleran on January 22, 2020," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tom O'Halleran 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Eva Putzova 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 22, 2020
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
