Phoenix mayoral candidates Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela are headed for a runoff election in March 2019, following the results of Tuesday’s contest.
The midterms drew to a close with no clear winner in the special election for the Phoenix mayoral race. Although Gallego had a strong showing throughout the night, beating her closest competitor Valenzuela by almost 20 percentage points, no candidate was able to secure over 50 percent of the vote to be elected.
At the time of publication, Gallego held a strong lead with 44 percent of the vote. Valenzuela followed her at 26 percent, Sanchez at 19 percent and Sarwark with 11 percent.
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Both front-running candidates enjoyed high turnout and optimism from their supporters at election night watch parties.
Kate Gallego’s watch party took place at the rooftop terrace of the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Phoenix. Supporters were confident as they began gathering at 7 p.m., right after polls closed. Daniel Perez, an intern who had been working with Gallego’s campaign since she announced her candidacy in October 2017, remained hopeful but realistic about her chances.
“Kate’s an awesome candidate. She knows what she’s talking about,” he said. But, “I definitely think it’s going to turn into a runoff.”
Julie Neerken, Gallego’s mother, said she was feeling “cautiously optimistic” about Gallego securing over 50 percent of the vote.
“She’s been working 14-hour days,” Neerken continued. “I hardly see her.”
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At 9:45, Gallego addressed her supporters following an announcement of her 45-percent lead.
“We are likely headed to a runoff in March with momentum at our backs,” Gallego said. “When we started this campaign, many said the race was already over and we had no chance of winning. But we persisted.”
She thanked her supporters and family, as well as other civil servants, like business owner and former Phoenix City Councilmember Mary Rose Wilcox and state Representative Isela Blanc, who were both in attendance. She also thanked her three opponents.
“I want to thank all of them for the races they have run. I’m really proud of how we went out into the community. We had more than 20 debates, so we were out there and accessible. I wish more races were run and won that way,” she said. “I particularly want to thank Daniel Valenzuela, who I served with on the Phoenix City Council and consider a friend.”
Valenzuela held his own election night watch party closeby at State 48 Brewery in downtown Phoenix, where he addressed officials and supporters of his campaign.
“There were no days off,” Valenzuela said. “The numbers that are being reflected tonight should only reflect just how hard we worked to get into a runoff.”
Valenzuela also denounced what he called “hyper-partisanship.”
“When we embarked on this campaign, I made a commitment that I would never have anything to do with [any] partisan, destructive political campaign,” Valenzuela said, adding that the platform he’d brought forth in his bid for the mayoral race had “stuck to its true colors.”
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Marco Lopez, a Phoenix business owner and former mayor of Nogales, Arizona, was among those in attendance at Valenzuela’s campaign send-off. Lopez said Valenzuela’s time on the Phoenix City Council as a “primary reason” for supporting him.
“He understands that in order for us to have a thriving economy, we need to focus on attracting more business,” Lopez said. “It’s a circular interaction, that’s why I think it’s important to support [Valenzuela].”
Gilbert Arvizu, an independent candidate running to oversee District 8 in the Phoenix City Council, said Tuesday night’s runoff election result would not be a deterrent for the momentum Valenzuela’s campaign had generated.
“There’s still a lot of time to go out and do work,” Arvizu said. “We all kind of knew that it was going to be a runoff, so we’re prepared for that.”
Arvizu, who will be on the special election ballot in March, added the supporters in attendance at Valenzuela’s campaign event were “very optimistic” of the work that was to come.
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For Valenzuela, the optimism among his supporters set a positive precedent for the work that was to be expected in the lead-up to the runoff election.
“We have more work to do,” Valenzuela said. “We knew that running for mayor of Phoenix was going to be tough. I will continue to move our campaign forth.”
Valenzuela ended the night with a call to action for his supporters.
“No one is leaving. Everyone is here for the fight,” he said. “We have 126 days left to accomplish this goal to move our city forward.”
Only a block away, Gallego shared similar sentiments in her speech to supporters.
“Tomorrow is just a few hours away, and we will not stop,” she said. “We will continue to listen to voters, to work with community members, and to organize a new generation of leaders.”
Contact the reporters at Rebecca.Spiess@asu.edu and Samuel.Leal@asu.edu.
