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In a bit of a surprise, Arizona Democrats will have a 2024 presidential preference election to vote in.

The state Democratic Party had been widely expected to cancel their presidential primary and simply assign their party convention delegates to President Joe Biden.

It is common for political parties to cancel presidential primaries when their party holds the White House and the incumbent is seeking reelection.

For example, the Arizona GOP did not participate in the 2020 presidential preference election when then-President Donald Trump was seeking a second term.

However, both the state Democratic Party and the Republican Party will take part in the March 19 presidential preference election next year.

That means not only an open choice for Republicans but also that Biden could face opposition from Democrats hoping to make him a one-term president, such as candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.

Each party had a 5 p.m. deadline Friday, Sept. 1, to decide whether to opt out of the state-run election, and they did not act, said a spokesman for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

As reported Saturday in the Star, Arizona Republican Party Chair Jeff DeWit rejected a demand from the Maricopa County Republican Party to cancel Republicans participation in the state-run election and instead hold a party-run election so they could ban early and mail-in voting.

DeWit cited last-minute timing and various legal issues as reasons for his decision.

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Arizona Democrats will have presidential preference election - Arizona Daily Star