With not a single contested race on the ballot, combined with Tucson's vote-by-mail system, primary day was about as anti-climactic as an election can possibly be. Tuesday, City Council candidates barely even worked to turn out the vote, knowing their electoral fates had already been sealed in envelopes and dropped at the Post Office days or weeks ago.
With no one opposing them in the races to pick party candidates, they knew their fates anyway — to have their names printed on the ballot in November.
About 25 percent of Democrats and 18 percent of Republican voters in the city cast ballots, with the Dems rates boosted by incumbent Mayor Jonathan Rothschild's name at the top of the ticket.
The GOP didn't field a mayoral candidate, and thus had very few voters in wards that didn't have a Council candidate also on the partisan ballots. Only about 1,600 more Republicans cast ballots for mayor than for their three Council candidates. Yet, only 1,798 total votes were written in for a Republican mayoral choice.
Regardless, each of the candidates with their names on the ballot got at least the single vote required to move on to the general election. Here's the tale of the tape:
Turnout
| Total votes | % |
|---|
| Registered voters - Total | 225,105 | |
| Registered voters - Democratic Party | 92,192 | 40.96 |
| Registered voters - Republican Party | 53,176 | 23.62 |
| Registered voters - Libertarian Party | 1,965 | .87 |
| Ballots cast - Total | 32,411 | 32,411 |
| Ballots cast - Democratic Party | 22,747 | 70.18 |
| Ballots cast - Republican Party | 9,607 | 29.64 |
| Ballots cast - Libertarian Party | 57 | .18 |
| Ballots cast - BLANK | 1,088 | 3.36 |
| Turnout - Total | | 14.40 |
| Turnout - Democratic Party | | 24.67 |
| Turnout - Republican Party | | 18.07 |
| Turnout - Libertarian Party | | 2.90 |
DEMOCRATS
Mayor
| Total votes | % |
|---|
| ROTHSCHILD, JONATHAN | 22,068 | 97.01 |
| Write-in | 256 | 1.13 |
| Over Votes | 36 | .16 |
| Under Votes | 387 | 1.70 |
| Total | 22,747 | |
Council Member - Ward 1
| ROMERO, REGINA | 3,437 | 90.83 |
| Write-in | 84 | 2.22 |
| Over Votes | 7 | .18 |
| Under Votes | 256 | 6.77 |
| Total | 3,784 | |
Council Member - Ward 2
| CUNNINGHAM, PAUL | 4,850 | 92.38 |
| Write-in | 60 | 1.14 |
| Over Votes | 1 | .02 |
| Under Votes | 339 | 6.46 |
| Total | 5,250 | |
Council Member - Ward 4
| SCOTT, SHIRLEY C. | 3,125 | 92.57 |
| Write-in | 56 | 1.66 |
| Over Votes | 1 | .03 |
| Under Votes | 194 | 5.75 |
| Total | 3,376 | |
REPUBLICANS
Mayor
| Total votes | % |
|---|
| Write-in | 1,798 | 18.72 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 7,809 | 81.28 |
| Total | 9,607 | |
Council Member - Ward 1
| HUNT, BILL | 815 | 96.11 |
| Write-in | 15 | 1.77 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 18 | 2.12 |
| Total | 848 | |
Council Member - Ward 2
| LAWTON, KELLY | 4,073 | 96.38 |
| Write-in | 56 | 1.33 |
| Over Votes | 1 | .02 |
| Under Votes | 96 | 2.27 |
| Total | 4,226 | |
Council Member - Ward 4
| BURKHOLDER, MARGARET | 2,851 | 96.74 |
| Write-in | 39 | 1.32 |
| Over Votes | 3 | .10 |
| Under Votes | 54 | 1.83 |
| Total | 2,947 | |
LIBERTARIANS
Mayor
| Write-in | 40 | 70.18 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 17 | 29.82 |
| Total | 57 | |
Council Member - Ward 1
| Write-in | 5 | 62.50 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 3 | 37.50 |
| Total | 8 | |
Council Member - Ward 2
| Write-in | 4 | 80.00 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 1 | 20.00 |
| Total | 5 | |
Council Member - Ward 4
| Write-in | 6 | 42.86 |
| Over Votes | | |
| Under Votes | 8 | 57.14 |
| Total | 14 | |
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