A tight contest is shaping up in early returns Tuesday night among the three Republicans seeking to be one of the party's two nominees for Arizona Corporation Commission.
Kevin Thompson has a slight lead over Ralph Heap and Nick Myers.
This was originally going to be a four-way race for the two seats up for grabs on the commission with the key responsibility of approving rates that investor-owned utilities can charge their customers.
Incumbent Republicans Myers and Thompson cited their record of getting rid of what they called "Green New Deal'' requirements, approved by prior commissioners, for utilities to get a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources as well as efficiency mandates.
But those changes proved to be insufficient to the Arizona Freedom Caucus, which instead recruited and promoted Heap and David Marshall to run on a platform more focused on fossil fuels, and coal in particular.
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Marshall dropped out after being appointed as Navajo County recorder, leaving Heap, a state lawmaker, as the lone challenger. That left Myers and Thompson to defend against efforts by the White House to keep the Cholla power plant in Joseph City operating on coal versus the decision of Arizona Public Service to convert retired units to run on natural gas.
The winners advance to take on Democrats Jonathon Hill and Clara Pratte in the November general election.
