Greg Stanton wins Arizona’s 4th District primary over progressive
Democratic socialist defeats 15-term incumbent in Colorado primary
Fox News political analyst Lisa Boothe analyzes the recent primary elections in Colorado, where a Democratic socialist defeated a 15-term incumbent. Boothe emphasizes that the rising anti-establishment enthusiasm within the Democratic Party is pushing the party further to the left. He emphasized concerns that this trend could lead to more extreme candidates entering the Parliament in the midterm elections in November.
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After socialists won a series of Democratic primaries in New York, Colorado and Washington, D.C., the party’s moderate wing scored an increasingly rare victory in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District.
Incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton fended off progressive challenger Kai Newkirk Tuesday night after months of tough primary debates. During the campaign, Newkirk accused Stanton of being too pro-business and too pro-Israel; These accusations were similar to those leveled by the socialists who dethroned the establishment Democrats in New York.
While these perspectives worked in New York, they failed in Arizona, allowing Stanton to advance to the general election in November; where he became a strong favorite to win a fifth term in the House of Representatives.
Stanton’s long-standing support for Israel was a major flashpoint in the campaign.
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PHOENIX, AZ – NOVEMBER 06: Democratic supporters listen to Greg Stanton’s speech after winning Arizona’s 9th congressional district during an election night event at Renaissance Phoenix Downtown on November 6, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Newkirk said of Stanton: “He has refused to do anything to hold the extremist Israeli government accountable for the genocide in Gaza and war crimes in the region.”
Progressives have criticized Stanton specifically for voting to send aid to Israel, opposing the Biden administration’s efforts to restrict arms sales to the country, and voting to sanction the International Criminal Court for pursuing cases against Israeli leaders.
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WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13: Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., votes to approve the second article of impeachment as the House Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing to vote on two articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump on December 13, 2019 at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)
With support from AIPAC, Stanton called for a ceasefire and supported a two-state solution to end the war.
The incumbent congressman’s relationship with business interests was another sore point for Newkirk.
“It was always clear to me that he was an institutional Democrat who would never fight for the changes we needed in our country to move from an oligarchy to a true democracy that prioritizes the working class,” Newkirk told Axios earlier in the campaign.
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UNITED STATES – JANUARY 8: Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., center, with her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., second from left, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., left, Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz. and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) pose for a photo at the U.S. Capitol. ((Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))
Stanton is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a center-left caucus that has taken relatively pro-business stances when making policy in the House of Representatives. Newkirk, meanwhile, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Newkirk became a DSA member just days after requesting confirmation, a local DSA member told the Arizona Republic in early July.
Newkirk also went after Stanton for his stance on immigration, particularly his support for the Laken Riley Act.
According to Newkirk, Stanton’s support for the Laken Riley Act “gave Trump the green light for his authoritarian mass deportation campaign and began the erosion of due process.”
The legislation, passed in 2025 after 46 House Democrats crossed party lines to support it, requires federal immigration enforcement to detain illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes.
While Stanton voted for the Laken Riley Act and criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the border, he also called for greater oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and criticized the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.
The final stretch of the election was marred by controversy in Newkirk; A number of local activists and party organizations withdrew their support in July after former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner was accused of sexual assault, ultimately devastating his campaign.
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A blog post Newkirk called defamatory in 2019 accused him of “grooming” young female political activists. One of the post’s authors later condemned it, saying it fell short of journalistic standards.
Despite this, Arizona’s Young Democrats withdrew their support for Newkirk on July 9, claiming that they were “aware of some recent concerning patterns of behavior” from the candidate. A leader from the Phoenix chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America also rescinded his endorsement of Newkirk at the time, but declined to comment on the specific reasoning behind the decision.
