WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego is promoting Republican backing for his Senate campaign as the congressman works to assemble a winning coalition in the swing state.

A list being released Sunday of Republican supporters of his campaign includes moderate Republicans and some former Republicans who held elected office or other roles in business or politics. Several are former aides to the late Sen. John McCain, the famed Arizona Republican and onetime prisoner of war who was known for occasionally bucking his party.

Gallego’s Republican opponent, Kari Lake, has criticized McCain in the past and once suggested he was a “loser.”

Democrats have made inroads in Arizona after decades of GOP dominance. While Republicans have more registered voters in the state, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Katie Hobbs and other Democrats have cobbled together narrow victories by holding their party together, dominating among independents and getting support from an outsize share of Republicans who dislike the direction of the GOP under Donald Trump.

Lake is a former television news anchor and one of Trump’s most prominent supporters. Like Trump, she has promoted false and debunked theories of election fraud.

She says Gallego is a liberal Democrat who is out of step with Arizona’s moderate voters. Lake says the congressman votes in lockstep with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, supported legislation that worsened inflation and wants to eliminate the Senate filibuster to enact a liberal agenda.

Gallego, who served as a Marine in Iraq, is emphasizing his military service and financially humble upbringing as he looks to expand his stature beyond the safely Democratic district in Phoenix that he has represented since 2015. He says he is not afraid to push Biden when he disagrees with the administration’s policies, particularly around the U.S.-Mexico border. Gallego views the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes to pass most legislation, as a barrier to efforts to protect voting rights, abortion rights and other priorities.

Among those Republicans endorsing Gallego is Mesa Mayor John Giles, who has been a vocal supporter of Democrats running against Trump and his allies, including Biden and Kelly.

“I cannot in good conscience stand on the sidelines while extremists like Kari Lake, who have hijacked our party for the sake of personal gain, undermine the very fabric of what makes America exceptional,” Giles said in a statement released by Gallego’s campaign.

Gallego is emphasizing his military service as a Marine who faced difficult combat in Iraq, a biography with the potential to appeal across party lines.

“Like my former boss, Ruben has spent decades serving his country and state,” said Paul Hickman, a former state director for McCain who described himself as a lifelong Republican, in a statement released by Gallego’s campaign.

Lake’s GOP primary rival, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, earned about 40% of the vote Tuesday despite being outspent 5-to-1 by Lake, giving hope to Democrats that her Republican support remains soft.

When she accepted victory in the primary, Lake made a point of reaching out to those who voted against her, a stark contrast to her 2022 run for governor when she went after McCain and other Republicans who ran afoul of the right.

“This is an all hands on deck moment,” she said. “It’s going to take people from all walks of life.”

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Maricopa County says it’s counted about 99 percent of the roughly 740,000 ballots cast in Tuesday’s primary election, with 2,100 ballots left to tabulate and verify as of Saturday night.

In an election, every vote can matter. In the Congressional District 3 Democratic primary, which includes most of west Phoenix, only 67 votes separate Yassamin Ansari and Raquel Terán, with nearly 44,000 ballots counted.

“In Arizona right now, both in the primary and in the general election everything is very close. The parties and the campaigns are organized to try and get out every vote they can. And the reason they’re doing that is because those margins are so tight and because they recognize that every vote counts,” said Arizona Clean Elections Commission Executive Director Tom Collins.

In Arizona, a recount is automatically triggered when the top two candidates in a race are within .5% of each other. At Maricopa County, election officials are prepared if any officially go to a recount.

“We have several that are close in Maricopa County. We’re keeping an eye on those and making sure that we are able to do the full recount should it become necessary,” said Jennifer Liewer with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

If a recount happens, Collins says the tabulation equipment is tested, and the ballots are again run through the machines.

“There’s always going to be lawyers involved, but the actual procedures at the county level are very straightforward and rely on the very same processes that were used to count the ballots in the first place,” he explained.

In the meantime, Collins says candidates in close races are still trying to get every last vote for them verified and counted.

“They’ve been out working, reaching out to voters to cure the ballots if they had a signature missing or a signature mismatch, those kinds of things, so that’s what the campaigns have been doing,” he said.

The deadline to issue Letters of Nomination and Certificates of Election and deliver canvasses to the Secretary of State is Aug. 12.

Both candidates sent out statements on Saturday.

“From the very beginning of this campaign, our diverse, progressive team has defied the odds in our fight for a better future. After the last round of vote tabulation, we have maintained our lead in this race. “

“That is a true testament to a dedicated team and the incredible volunteers that knocked over 165,000 doors and made tens of thousands of calls to voters across the district. We took our positive message of progressive results directly to voters and I could not be more proud.”

“We are still hard at work ensuring that every vote is counted. Thank you to the thousands of voters who made their voices heard in this election. Together, we will continue to deliver progressive results. Our work has just begun. ”

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GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals on Friday suffered a serious blow defensively with the loss of second-year pass rusher BJ Ojulari to a reported torn ACL.

Consistently earning first-team reps after making a noticeable jump this offseason, all signs pointed to Ojulari commanding a starting role come Week 1.

Arizona Cardinals OLB Zaven Collins touches on his relationship with BJ Ojulari and how tough it was to see his fellow pass rusher go down with a torn ACL on Friday: pic.twitter.com/Vr0RRJW4ku

— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) August 3, 2024

Now with that thought firmly out the window in 2024, general manager Monti Ossenfort, head coach Jonathan Gannon and the rest of Arizona’s coaching staff are left to pick up pieces at a position that didn’t see a massive revamp like other spots on the roster.

But as Gannon said on Saturday, “the sun’s up now and we gotta go to work.”

A look at the paths Ossenfort and Co. could take following Ojulari’s season-ending knee injury:

In-house options

The Cardinals did little in adding to the outside linebackers room this offseason. Some of that could have been the free-agent market. Confidence in the guys already on the roster was likely a factor, as well.

The latter thought was made even more apparent with the two-year contract extension pass rusher Zaven Collins inked ahead of Friday’s Red & White Practice.

Ossenfort had said months ago he would like to keep Collins around after deciding against picking up the inside-turned-outside linebacker’s fifth-year option. And while the timing of the extension coincides with Ojulari going down for the year, Ossenfort was true on his word and had been working with Collins’ camp on a new deal well before Friday’s development.

Collins has taken steps forward in the pass-rushing department since working through the switch while also providing a voice in the room for players like Ojulari to lean on, especially when working through coverages.

His role in the defense looks even more solidified now given the extension.

As for who lines up across from him, there’s a clear candidate in Dennis Gardeck, who was already firmly in the discussion before the Ojulari injury.

“He is one of the more complete players I’ve honestly ever been around,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said in July. “I think he’s an extremely good pass rusher. He can cover as good as any outside linebacker can cover. And he can win with leverage in the run game.

“He can provide value for us along the line of scrimmage, in space, all of that. If he takes strides in all parts of his game, he’s going to bring that much more value to our defense.”

As for the depth immediately behind Gardeck and Collins, the two names to keep in mind are Victor Dimukeje and Jesse Luketa.

Dimukeje is coming off a career year highlighted by four sacks (tied for second on the team), five tackles for loss and eight QB hits across 16 games played (six starts).

Luketa meanwhile showed off his versatility last year, playing both fullback and outside linebacker in 14 games (one start).

He also turned in one of the better pass rushes during Saturday’s Red & White Practice during 1-on-1 work.

Dimukeje could very well be the first sub in for Collins and Gardeck with Luketa not that far behind.

A dark horse in all of this is 2024 fifth-rounder Xavier Thomas.

Picking up the phone

Simply for depth purposes, Arizona is bound to bring another body in one way or another.

How that happens is anyone’s guess. What we do know is those discussions are already underway.

Ossenfort has a few options to consider.

He can scour what’s left of the free agent market in the hopes of adding depth sooner than later. With training camp nearing its final phase ahead of preseason action, any extra time within Arizona’s system is a plus.

Then again, if players are still looking for a team at this time of the year, it’s likely for good reason, whether it’s centered around pay or performance.

Ossenfort getting on the phone with other GMs around the league to gauge any trade interest is on the table, too.

There’s also the possibility Ossenfort waits for the league’s 53-man roster cutdown day on Aug. 27 before making a decision.

Either way, the options are aplenty.

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