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But this fight doesn't involve the incumbent Republican; the tension is on the Democratic side of the ticket, as one candidate alleges the Democratic Party has broken the law by funneling money to help his opponent.

This is more than just a local squabble.

The infighting could undermine not just the ability of Democrats to oust Bolick, who won her 2024 election in the district with just 50.8% of the vote, but to have Democrats take control of the Senate, something that has not happened since 1992.

Dan Toporek said he intends to file a campaign finance complaint against the Navajo County Democratic Committee and its legislative campaign arm, pointing to a money trail documented in campaign filings made earlier this month.

The reports show the Navajo County Democratic Party, which is running the state party's campaign funding this cycle, gave $15,000 to Arizona List, a political action committee that supports Democratic women running for office. It was an unusual move; usually PACs give money to the political parties, not the other way around.

Campaign finance reports show Arizona List then spent $10,000 to hire a firm to gather nomination petitions for Amelia Gallitano-Mendel, a late arrival to the Senate primary and now a candidate, along with Toporek, for the Legislative District 2 seat.

Arizona List disclosed the money as a contribution from a political party, and the Gallitano-Mendel campaign reported the $10,000 as an in-kind donation from a PAC in campaign finance reports filed earlier this month.

The chain of spending appears to violate a state law that bars political parties from contributing to candidates until they have become the party's nominee. The Democratic nominee won't be decided until the July 21 primary election.

LD 2 is considered one of the few legislative swing districts in the state.

It is true that registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a margin of about 5-4. But also true is that there are more residents registered as independents than are affiliated with either party. And they control the balance of power.

Democrats are eying a potential pickup by knocking off Bolick. The district runs from Moon Valley in north-central Phoenix north to Loop 303 at the edge of the city.

At a district meeting April 23, Toporek aired his complaint that the party, through its legislative arm called the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, took sides in what until earlier this year had been a one-candidate race. He called for Gallitano-Mendel to withdraw, a request that was met with silence.

At that meeting, Toporek recounted a Feb. 18 meeting with the executive director of the legislative committee and former state representative Judy Schwiebert, expecting support for his campaign. Instead, he learned the committee was promoting Gallitano-Mendel.

Schwiebert, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate seat in 2024, initially backed Toporek after her efforts to recruit Gallitano-Mendel didn't pan out. But when Toporek posted an anemic finance report in January, Schwiebert said she and the legislative committee were able to convince Gallitano-Mendel to run.

Toporek said the shift bothered him, not only because he felt the party was picking favorites, but because he thought the party had "bought'' Gallitano-Mendel.

Jeanne Lunn, campaign manager for Gallitano-Mendel, rejected that charge and said there was no coordination between the campaign and the legislative committee. Such coordination would be illegal, she noted.

As for the call for Gallitano-Mendel to withdraw, Lunn said that isn't happening.

"Amelia's campaign is focused on talking to voters and winning the race,'' Lunn said.

Toporek said party officials, in an attempt to pacify him, offered him the same services that they were providing to his opponent's campaign. That agreement gives a candidate support on things such as staffing, fundraising and communications — but only after the candidate pays $3,000 to "buy in'' to the party's services.

That wasn't the only issue.

"They wanted to run my campaign, and they wanted to run her campaign,'' Toporek said.

Both candidates would share the same staffers, an arrangement Toporek found unacceptable since they are competitors. He said he wanted the ADLCC to stay neutral in the primary race, but was rebuffed.

That has fueled his intent to file a campaign finance complaint, although Toporek said conditions could change.

While his original goal was to get his opponent to withdraw from the race, he now sees larger issues.

One is the roundabout way in which the party's money was directed to Gallitano-Mendel's benefit. The other is that "buy-in program, which provides party services at a discounted rate

Both, he said, are illegal.

Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan, co-chair of the legislative campaign committee, declined to comment on specific charges, but said the committee she co-chairs is pledged to give candidates equal access to its services. The °µÍø³Ô¹Ï Democrat also said in a statement that the finger-pointing could distract from Democrats' "shared goal of flipping the Arizona legislature.''

But the fight is not over.

Toporek's attorney, Craig Martin, wrote to Democratic party officials and asked them to cease what he called illegal contributions to Gallitano-Mendel and to treat each candidate fairly.

He said he got a curt comment that he interpreted as a "no.''

"It's so bonkers to me that a party would do something like this,'' Martin said of picking favorites in a primary.

He said the party is still recovering from the turmoil it went through last year when it ousted Robert Branscomb as its chairman after just six months, starting anew in September with former state lawmaker Charlene Fernandez as its new chair. Martin said the party needs to get its act together.

"Now, more than ever, we need you,'' he said of a unified party.