We interrupt the Mark Kelly watch — will he or won’t he be Kamala Harris’ running mate? — to remind Arizonans there’s an important election coming up next week.

One that could tell us just how dominant the MAGA movement really is in GOP circles — and whether Democrats have a shot of repeating 2022 and making further inroads on power long held by Republicans.

Any registered Republican or independent can vote in Tuesday’s Republican primary. To find a polling place in Maricopa County, go to the county’s website.

Here are three storylines worth watching:

Watch Legislative District 1, where Sen. Ken Bennett is being challenged by former Rep. Mark Finchem.

Bennett, a traditional conservative who has served both as Senate president and secretary of state, has singlehandedly stopped the Arizona Freedom Caucus from imposing several extreme ideas on the state, primarily dealing with immigration and elections.

That’s made him a prime target of the hard right, which is backing one of the state’s most fervent MAGA warriors, Mark Finchem. Fresh off his 2022 loss for secretary of state, Finchem has carpetbagged his way from southern Arizona to ruby-red Yavapai County, where he hopes he can spin fantastical tales of stolen elections into a seat in the Senate.

Bennett should have the edge, having lived and worked in Prescott for decades. He also has a secret weapon: Steve Zipperman.

Zipperman lost a close race to Bennett in 2022. This year, he’s running again and will have to share the hard-core conspiracy vote with Finchem.

Advantage: Bennett.

Watch Legislative District 7, where Sen. Wendy Rogers faces Rep. David Cook.

Rogers was that perennial politician who never won anything until 2020, when she moved from her Tempe home into a Flagstaff trailer and spent buckets of money to knock off then-Sen. Sylvia Allen.

Since then she has become a rock star........

© Arizona Republic