• Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff: Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner just announced that he'd run for a full term to his current post as a Democrat even though he was a lifelong registered Republican until late last year.
Skinner was the top deputy to the previous sheriff, Democrat Paul Penzone, but switched his registration the day after his boss announced his resignation. State law required the GOP-controlled Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to pick a member of Penzone's party, but critics argued Skinner's move allowed the board to circumvent this requirement.
"I'm not tied to my political affiliation," Skinner told 12 News' Brahm Resnik over the weekend. "I'm a law enforcement professional. That's not going to change how I do my job." When Resnik asked the sheriff if he voted for Donald Trump in 2020, he replied, "I don't recall. It's possible."
The July 30 Democratic primary already included the two other finalists for the appointment: former Phoenix police officer Tyler Kamp and Apache Junction police commander Jeffrey Kirkham. Both challengers also registered as Democrats after Penzone announced his departure, but the local Democratic Party supported Kamp's appointment.
Four Republicans are also running, including 2020 nominee Jerry Sheridan, who lost to Penzone 56-44, and 2020 primary loser Mike Crawford. Candidate filing closes on April 1.
• Primary Night: The 2024 downballot primaries begin Tuesday with what promises to be the year's biggest election night from now until November. Jeff Singer has our preview of a jumbo-sized evening covering the big races to watch in Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, and Texas. And for even more, check out Bolts' look at Texas' key primaries for district attorney and sheriff.
However, while we'll know the winner of many of these contests on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, it may take a while longer to learn who will be advancing out of California's top-two primaries. A key reason why: The Golden State, which permanently adopted universal mail voting in 2021, allows ballots to be counted so long as they're postmarked by Election Day and received a week afterward.
And because there's a huge gulf in partisan preferences over when and how to vote, each batch of newly counted ballots can differ greatly from those counted just before or after. Those differences could make all the difference in contests where two candidates are locked in a tight race for the vital second spot in the November general election.
We'll be kicking off our first primary liveblog of the year at Daily Kos Elections when the first polls close at 7:30 PM ET in North Carolina and will continue deep into the night as all these races unfold. You can also keep up with our blow-by-blow coverage on X. See you then!