If you were watching the map on election night, you probably noticed Arizona didn’t just change color; it basically underwent a political personality split. We’re talking about a state that handed Donald Trump a comfortable victory while simultaneously electing a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and enshrining abortion rights in its constitution.
It's weird.
The arizona voting results 2024 tell a story of a voter base that refuses to be put into a neat little box. You’ve got people who voted for Trump and Ruben Gallego on the same ballot. That doesn’t happen in a "polarized" world, yet it happened in thousands of Arizona households. Honestly, the 2024 cycle felt like a fever dream for anyone trying to predict the future of the Southwest.
The Top of the Ticket: Trump’s Big Comeback
Let’s look at the raw numbers first because they’re pretty staggering. Donald Trump didn't just win; he swept all 15 counties. Yes, even the ones that usually stay blue or at least purple. He finished with about 52.2% of the vote (roughly 1.77 million votes) compared to Kamala Harris at 46.7% (about 1.58 million).
That’s a massive shift from 2020.
Back then, Joe Biden won by a razor-thin 10,457 votes. This time? Trump won by over 187,000. It wasn't even close by the time the final "late bolos" (those mail-in ballots dropped off on election day) were counted. He flipped Maricopa County back to red, which is basically where the entire election is decided anyway.
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Why did it happen? Most experts, like those at the Brookings Institute, point to a massive swing among Latino voters. In Arizona, the popular vote swung about six points in Trump’s favor compared to four years ago. It turns out that concerns over the economy and border security outweighed the traditional party loyalty we’ve seen in the past.
The Senate Paradox: Ruben Gallego vs. Kari Lake
This is where the arizona voting results 2024 get really interesting. Despite Trump’s dominance, Republican Kari Lake couldn’t catch the same lightning in a bottle. Ruben Gallego, a former Marine and progressive Congressman, pulled off a win with 50.1% of the vote.
Lake trailed behind at 47.7%.
Think about that for a second. There were roughly 93,000 people who walked into a booth, checked the box for Trump, and then skipped over Lake to vote for Gallego. That is a massive "ticket-split."
- Gallego's Strategy: He ran a very disciplined campaign. He talked about his veteran status and his "everyman" upbringing. He basically stayed away from the high-level partisan bickering.
- The Lake Factor: Kari Lake had a harder time. She still had some baggage from 2022, and her past comments about "McCain Republicans" clearly came back to haunt her. In a state where John McCain is still a bit of a legend, telling his supporters to "get the hell out" wasn't a great long-term strategy.
- The Result: For the fourth cycle in a row, Arizona sent a Democrat to the Senate.
The Ballot Measures: A Purple Reality
If you want to know what Arizonans actually care about, look at the propositions. This is where the voters really spoke their minds without the filter of a candidate's personality.
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Proposition 139 (Abortion Access)
This was the big one. Arizonans voted overwhelmingly—61.6% to 38.4%—to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution up to the point of fetal viability. This wasn't a partisan vote. To get to 61%, you need a lot of Republicans and Independents to say "yes." It was a direct reaction to the 1864 near-total ban that the State Supreme Court briefly allowed to go into effect earlier in the year.
Proposition 314 (Border Enforcement)
At the same time, voters passed a very tough border security measure. About 62.6% of voters approved a law that allows state and local police to arrest people crossing the border illegally. Usually, that’s a federal job. But Arizonans are clearly frustrated with the status quo.
It’s a fascinating contradiction. The same person who voted to protect reproductive rights also voted for state-level border policing. That is the 2024 Arizona voter in a nutshell.
The Down-Ballot Shakeup
The arizona voting results 2024 also solidified Republican control in the state legislature. They didn't just hold their majorities; they expanded them. In the State Senate, Republicans now have a 17-13 lead. Over in the House, it’s 33-27.
This means Governor Katie Hobbs (a Democrat) is going to have a very tough couple of years trying to get any legislation through. We're looking at a period of "divided government" on steroids.
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Then you have the U.S. House seats. Most incumbents held on, including David Schweikert in District 1 and Juan Ciscomani in District 6. These were incredibly tight races—Ciscomani won by only about two percentage points—but the "red wave" at the local level was enough to keep them in their seats.
Voter Turnout: Not What We Expected
You’d think with all the drama, turnout would be through the roof. Surprisingly, it actually dipped. The turnout rate of eligible voters was about 63.6%, which is down from the nearly 69% we saw in 2020.
Part of this might be "voter fatigue." We’ve been a battleground state for six years straight. The commercials never stop. The mailers never stop. Honestly, people are tired.
Pima County (Tucson) still had the highest engagement at around 60.9% of the voting-age population, while more rural areas saw some of the biggest drops. Apache County, for instance, saw its turnout fall by over 6 points.
Actionable Insights from the 2024 Results
If you’re trying to make sense of where Arizona is heading, here are the key takeaways you can actually use:
- Don't trust the "Red" or "Blue" labels. Arizona is officially the land of the Independent. If you’re a candidate, you cannot win here by just talking to your base. You have to win the "split-ticket" voter who likes Trump's economy but wants Gallego's healthcare views.
- The "McCain Republican" is still a thing. Even though Trump won big, the "MAGA" style of campaigning didn't work for Kari Lake. There is a specific segment of the Arizona GOP that is more moderate and will absolutely jump ship if they feel a candidate is too extreme.
- Local issues trump national narratives. The passage of Prop 139 and Prop 314 shows that people are voting on their specific realities—the cost of living, the border in their backyard, and their personal healthcare.
If you’re looking for the official certified documents or want to see how your specific precinct voted, you should head over to the Arizona Secretary of State’s website. They have the full breakdown of every single vote cast in the state.
For those following the 2026 midterms, keep an eye on those Legislative Districts. The margins in districts 1, 6, and 13 are so slim that Arizona will likely remain the center of the political universe for the foreseeable future.