Jim Ogsbury

David Schweikert is set to win the 5th Congressional District Republican primary.

With 97.6 percent of precincts reporting, Schweikert tops the six-person field with just under 30 percent of the vote. Susan Bitter Smith, who has kept pace with him throughout the night, currently has 28 percent of the vote, but it will not be enough to overcome Schweikert's lead.

Schweikert, who served as Arizona House majority leader and Maricopa County treasurer, will go on to face U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) in the general election.

Schweikert and Bitter Smith were the front runners throughout the counting, leading the rest of the field by double-digit margins. Former state Rep. Laura Knaperek came closest with over 15 percent of the vote, followed by state Rep. Mark Anderson (R-Mesa) with 13.6 percent, Jim Ogsbury at just under 12 percent and Lee Adam Gentry with a point-and-a-half.

Just two minutes after polls closed Republican Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury sent out an email declaring victory.  Ogsbury credited his win “to a complete lack of opposition and having secured the requisite number of petition signatures.”  No Ogsbury was not talking about his congressional bid but his precinct committeeman race.  Congrats Jim. Well done. 

Jim Ogsbury doesn't know whether he'll be the Republican nominee for the 5th Congressional District seat, but at least Tuesday night won't be a complete loss for the former congressional aide, lawyer and lobbyist.

According to an announcement by his campaign, he has been elected a precinct committeeman for Legislative District 17.

From the release:

"Republican Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury declared victory in his race to become a precinct committeeman for Arizona’s Legislative District 17, Paiute Precinct.  He credited his win to a complete lack of opposition and having secured the requisite number of petition signatures. “'I look forward to working with Arizona Republicans to realize conservative change for a brighter tomorrow,'” Ogsbury declared."

When J.D. Hayworth was asked who he thought would win the AZ-5 Republican Primary today he said I don’t know, but they are all better than Harry Mitchell.  Hayworth has been accused by many as being a little rough around the edges, but he obviously doesn’t want to upset any of the potential candidates.  Republican Chairman Randy Pullen doesn’t seem to have the same concern.  Pullen went out of his way to say one of the favorites David Schweikert of Susan Bitter Smith would win.  When asked what about the possibility of Jim Ogsbury pulling off the upset Pullen dismissed the idea and said “I don’t think that will happen.” 

Ogsbury's campaign was unavailable to comment, but one prominet  supporter was not so happy with the comment.  “Jim has knocked on more than 26,000 doors and has spent his time attacking Mitchell, not fellow Republicans.  You would think a chairman who wanted to build the party and not alienate the supporters of a loyal Republican.”

Five things to watch this week

1)      Will there be Clean Elections matching funds for the general?

2)      Did Thayer Verschoor spend his money to early or did Eddie Farnsworth overestimate his name value

3)      Will Tony Bouie’s endorsements place him in the top 2 or are the negative attacks to much to overcome

4)      AZ-5, Schweikert?  Bitter Smith? Or will Ogsbury walk his way into an upset?

5)      AZ-1 Sandra Livingstone came on strong with what seemed like an endorsement a day over the final few weeks, but was it to late to overtake Sydney Hay who was campaigning for months before anyone ever heard of Livingstone.

DENVER -- U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) is not worried about the outcome of the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District, which will lead to the selection of his  opponent in the general election.

"It makes no difference," said Mitchell, when asked if he had a preferred candidate to face after the Sept. 2 primary. "We've always run tough races. This is my 17th election. We always run against Republicans in Republican districts. This is no different, we're ready for any of them."

The David Schweikert campaign will report having $244,174 on hand as of Aug. 13, campaign spokesman Michael Juel told PolitickerAZ.com.

The campaign is transmitting its Federal Elections Commission report Thursday, which covers the period from July 1 to Aug. 13. Juel said the campaign will report raising nearly $100,000 over the six week period.

Schweikert's overall fundraising stands at $943,431 over the course of the cycle, which includes $250,000 the candidate lent his campaign. He has so far managed to outraise his opponents substantially, taking in more than three times what Jim Ogsbury raised during the same period.

5th Congressional District Republican primary candidate Jim Ogsbury had $258,730 as of Aug. 13, according to the report the campaign filed with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday.

According to the report, Ogsbury raised $27,246, after a $150 refund, between July 1 and Aug. 13. His total cash on hand includes $250,000 he lent the campaign at the outset.

Arizona’s 5th congressional district Republican primary was supposed to be one of the most exciting races we have seen in a long time. To date, it has been very quiet in actuality. Things seem to be picking up though as the primary date is quickly approaching. Here are some updates we have received.

Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury: Campaign photoTEMPE -- 5th Congressional District Republican candidate Jim Ogsbury used the 30-foot statue of U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) near the ASU campus as the backdrop for an attack against the freshman representative, who he hopes to have the opportunity to unseat, on the topic of energy legislation. 

"This statue has done more to lower gas prices" than Mitchell, said Ogsbury, who spoke before a small gathering of press and supporters.

"In 2006, while running for Congress, Harry Mitchell pledged to do something about the price of gas," said Ogsbury. "But since Harry Mitchell went to Congress, the price of gas has increased 68 percent. And what has Harry Mitchell