King, Dunham LD17 Fight Highlights Growing Battle Inside AZ GOP

Legislative District 17 (LD17) is shaping up to be one of Arizona’s most closely watched Republican primaries in 2026. Republican State Senator Vince Leach announced he will not seek reelection just two years after defeating former Senator Justine Wadsack in a contentious 2024 GOP primary. With Leach stepping aside, Republicans are lining up for the open Senate seat they want to keep. The district, which stretches across northeastern Pima County and into portions of southern Pinal County, has long been viewed as politically competitive. However, in this election cycle, LD17 has become a battleground where establishment Republicans, grassroots conservatives, and Democrats are investing significant amounts of time and money ahead of the 2026 election.

Chris King, a retired Air Force veteran and Vail Unified School District board member, has emerged as the more “establishment” candidate in the race and has already secured Leach’s endorsement, according to media outlets. His opponent, Anthony Dunham, an Iraq War veteran, retired law enforcement officer, and pastor, is positioning himself as the more populist conservative candidate. Dunham has received backing from Turning Point Action and is aligned with Arizona’s Freedom Caucus movement. The two candidates recently faced off in a Clean Elections debate, which voters can watch in its entirety on YouTube.

That debate made the growing battle between the “old guard” establishment Republicans and those supported by the Freedom Caucus increasingly clear.

When asked which Republican would have made a better governor, Karrin Taylor Robson or Kari Lake, both candidates chose Robson. The candidates were also asked to name a Democrat currently in office and offer a compliment. King named LD17 Democrat Representative Kevin Volk, describing him as someone he could speak with “like a brother.” King said that in his conversations with Volk, the two found agreement on “numerous issues.” Dunham did not name a specific Democratic legislator but said he has “a beer” with multiple Democrats in the district.

The Arizona Globe later reached out to Dunham and King for additional comments regarding the exchange. Dunham criticized King’s comments about Volk and questioned King’s Republican credentials.

“He said two things that were of particular interest to me,” Dunham told The Globe. “One was his willingness to work with Kevin Volk and his respect for Kevin Volk. We’ve seen that before with his willingness to work with the other side.” Dunham also referenced King’s ballot access efforts, stating: “He said that when he was collecting signatures to get on the ballot, he collected signatures from Democrats as well, which is illegal, so I don’t believe he’s a real Republican. I believe he’s a RINO.”

Dunham then broadened his criticism to the Democratic leadership in the Legislature, arguing that Democrats have moved too far left and have become obstructionist during budget negotiations with Governor Katie Hobbs.

“There’s not many Democrats I’m looking forward to working with,” Dunham said. “If we had some levelheaded Democrats like a John Fetterman in the state legislature and they were willing to come to the negotiating table, I would absolutely work with them.”

At the same time, Dunham emphasized that he regularly speaks with Democrats in his own neighborhood about local concerns. “I’m more concerned with hearing from my neighbors who are Democrats and hearing what issues are important to them in our community because we all have the best interest of our community in mind,” he said.

Dunham also revived criticism surrounding King’s role during contentious Vail School District meetings in 2021 over school masking policies. “The other thing that I wanted to point out is how Chris (King) said that he spent a lifetime ‘protecting children,’ yet when it came to answering questions in 2021 from parents about unmasking children, he ran out of the room, hid in a closet, texted somebody asking if it was safe to come out, got in his vehicle and drove off,” Dunham said. “If he’s going to do that to the 13,000 parents he was supposed to be representing in the Vail School District at the time, what is he going to do with nearly 240,000 constituents in LD17?”

King did not respond to The Globe’s attempt to get additional comments before publication.

Arizona’s 2026 primary election is Tuesday, July 21, 2026. The Legislature moved the primary up from August to July this cycle.