I thought the same, but AZ law says that if a Senate seat is vacated, the Governor, currently Dem, will appoint a replacement to fullfil the rest of the term. So, good news, the seat will not be up for grabs.
Not so good news, the appointed will have incumbency advantage and more than likely never be seriously primaried.
So, if Harris and Kelly were to be on the Democratic ticket and win, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) would need to appoint someone to take Kelly’s seat. Like what happened in 2020, that scenario would trigger a special for the next cycle — 2026. Then, in 2028, the seat Kelly won in 2022 will be up for a full, six-year term.
Ok between those two, I “like” Kelly the most but Shapiro is the better choice. Don’t give up the senate seat.
I thought the same, but AZ law says that if a Senate seat is vacated, the Governor, currently Dem, will appoint a replacement to fullfil the rest of the term. So, good news, the seat will not be up for grabs.
Not so good news, the appointed will have incumbency advantage and more than likely never be seriously primaried.
Oh, well thank you for that info. I wasn’t aware of that AZ law, but ya… incumbency counts.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/how-a-mark-kelly-vp-pick-could-give-arizonans-a-senate-election-every-even-year/article_c3cac836-71e1-5436-89e2-a46c7a70beeb.html#google_vignette
Plus, Pennsylvania is a nice big purple state to get a little home-state bias from.
I assume Kelly’s replacement would be appointed by the governor of Arizona, who happens to be a Democrat.