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Rooting out 'RINOs': Trump-endorsed Republicans oust Arizona lawmakers in primaries

A number of state lawmakers seem to have lost their primary races Tuesday to other Republican candidates who had earned the support of Donald Trump.

PHOENIX — It apparently pays to have former President Donald Trump fighting in your corner when it comes to winning elections in Arizona.

A number of sitting state senators who had failed to win Trump's support lost their primary races to candidates backed by the former president. 

State Sen. Tyler Pace of District 9 appears to have lost his re-election bid to retired police officer Robert Scantlebury, who went into the primary election with Trump's endorsement.

In his endorsement, Trump called Pace a "RINO" (Republican-In-Name-Only) and compared the state senator to former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, a public critic of the former president. 

By Wednesday afternoon, Scantlebury had a 33-percentage lead over Pace and had been declared the projected winner by the Associated Press. 

Arizona state Rep. Joanne Osborne appears to have also lost her primary race in District 29 to a Trump-endorsed candidate.

The latest election results showed the Republican senator trailing behind Janae Shamp by about 5,000 votes and the AP has called the race in Shamp's favor.

"I am 100% a Trump supporter who thinks the RINO's have to go, an American who loves her country, and an Arizonan who knows we need change at the State level," Shamp's website states.

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers notably lost his re-election bid to David Farnsworth, a Trump-endorsed candidate who attacked Bowers for not helping Republicans to overturn the 2020 election results.

"David Farnsworth will get rid of the stench of Rusty Bowers and his crew of RINOs who are systematically destroying everything that Arizona stands for," the candidate's website states. "He is a puppet of Governor Doug Ducey, a man who was totally afraid to act on so many important issues."

Trump-backed candidates Paul Gosar and Mark Finchem also easily won the primary races for Congressional District 9 and the Secretary of State's Office, respectively.

State Sen. Vince Leach of District 17 is also vulnerable to losing his seat in the Arizona Legislature after another Republican has surpassed him in the tabulation results. 

Justine Wadsack, who describes herself as an "authentic conservative," currently has a 5-percentage lead over Leach to represent a district encompassing the northeast region of Pima County. 

But Trump's effect appears to have come up short in the race to fill a spot on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. 

Gail Golec, who earned Trump's support earlier this year, was down by more than 12,000 votes behind Thomas Galvin in Tuesday's primary race. 

RELATED: Pinal County could see new elections director for November after 'embarrassing' ballot shortage

RELATED: Elections Department: Rachel Mitchell ahead in Republican Primary for Maricopa County Attorney

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