POLL: Tipirneni Leading in Race to Take on Schweikert

Tipirneni Leading in Race to Take on Schweikert

Tipirneni Leading 2018 Nominee Malik by 23

PHOENIX (August 4th, 2020) – Today's Democratic Primary for Arizona's 6th Congressional District appears to be over before counting the ballots even begins.

According to a poll by OH Predictive Insights (OHPI), Hiral Tipirneni leads Anita Malik, 53 percent to 30 percent. Neither of the other two candidates in the race earned more than 5% and 12% of the electorate is undecided.

Tipirneni, who lost a 2018 special election and a 2018 regular general election to now-Rep. Debbie Lesko in Arizona's 8th Congressional District, finds herself with a double-digit lead over Malik. The winner faces Rep. David Schweikert. Malik had been hoping for a rematch of 2018, where she lost to Schweikert.

The overwhelming majority of voters have already mailed in their ballots, the poll found. Whether it is due to the Coronavirus epidemic or simply Arizona voters' fondness for mail-in ballots, 90% of voters say they have already filled out their ballots for this primary election.

In the lead up to this race, Malik has been at a severe cash disadvantage to the fundraising behemoth that is Tipirneni. As of July 15th, Malik's campaign had only raised $244k compared to Tipirneni's $2.5 million haul. Tipirneni was flexing her fundraising muscle as late as this past weekend, on the airwaves with messages targeting primary voters – not general election ones.

It is clear, however, that whoever wins this Democratic Primary is going to be fighting what is likely to be the closest U.S. House race in Arizona this cycle. Even though Arizona's 6th District has traditionally been Republican territory, Schweikert's ethics scandal has given Democrats an opening. National Democrats have labeled the district as one of their top targets this cycle.

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Methodology:
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was conducted as a blended phone survey 57.3% Peer to Peer Text/42.8% IVR. The survey was completed by OH Predictive Insights on August 3rd, 2020 from an Arizona 6th District 2020 Likely Democratic Primary Voter sample. The sample demographics were weighted to accurately reflect gender, age, and party affiliation. The sample size was 400 completed surveys, with a MoE of ± 4.9%. Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Media Contacts: Mike Noble, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (480) 313-1837

Haylye Plaster, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (602) 687-3034