Poll tests attacks on Democrats running for Congress against Rep. David Schweikert

Democrats hoping to unseat incumbent Rep. David Schweikert in Arizona's 1st Congressional District are sharpening their knives for a combative primary race.

The Arizona Republic recently received the questions of a poll that was sent to a registered Democrat in the district that appears to be testing various lines of attack on Democrats running for the office.

The Republic did not receive poll results, but the questions being asked foreshadow personal attacks likely to be on the table as the candidates try to eliminate one another.

The race includes at least six Democrats: Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television journalist; Conor O'Callaghan, a managing director at a financial services company; Andrei Cherny, a former CEO of a financial services company; Amish Shah, a doctor, Kurt Kroemer, a former executive with the American Red Cross; and Andrew Horne, an orthodontist.

The district stretches from Scottsdale and Paradise Valley to Fountain Hills. Formerly a reliably Republican region, voters there have trended more Democratic over the last decade, with Schweikert, R-Ariz., barely holding his seat last year.

Each of those candidates' campaigns said they were not responsible for the poll, as did Schweikert's. A political committee could be responsible, and the relatively inexpensive poll could be concealed in campaign expense reports under a broader "consulting" or other listing, making it likely the source will not come to light.

The poll asks about Democrats in the race and whether voters would object to things like the candidates working in financial services, formerly registering as a Republican, losing all previous runs for office or having a criminal record.

Some of the questions include:

• Which one of the following is the most important quality to you in a candidate running against David Schweikert? — Progressive values and platform. — Is a lifelong Democrat. — Ability to win a general election. — Lives in the district they are running in. — Something else. — Not sure.

• If you knew they could defeat David Schweikert, would you vote for a candidate in the Democratic primary who had worked on Wall Street?

• If you knew they could defeat David Schweikert, would you vote for a candidate in the Democratic primary who lived outside the district?

• If you knew they could defeat David Schweikert, would you vote for a candidate in the Democratic primary who has previously lost all of their campaigns?

• How important is a candidate's gender to you in this primary race?

• Would you consider voting for a candidate in the primary if they had past legal trouble?

• Would you consider voting for a candidate in the primary if they had previously supported Governor Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne?

• Would you consider voting for a candidate in the primary if they was previously pro-life and anti-gay marriage?

• Would you consider voting for a candidate in the primary if they took money from alleged sexual abusers, election deniers and big oil?

• Would you consider voting for a candidate in the primary if they took money from No Labels Party board members? (The person who recorded the video for The Republic took a screen shot of this question.)

Arizona consultant Barrett Marson said responses to the poll are likely to inform attack ads in the race.

"I think this is an honest attempt to figure out what will move Democratic voters in this district," Marson said. "It's campaign 101."

But even he was stumped by which candidate or organization might have conducted the poll, since it contained potentially critical questions that affect multiple candidates.

While some of the poll questions seemed directed at Galan-Woods, he said it's even possible her campaign conducted to poll.

"The candidate may be looking at their own vulnerabilities," Marson said. "It could be Schweikert trying to suppress the Democratic vote."

The best bet though is that it's another Democrat, he said.

"A lot of people really dislike the concept of negative advertising in political campaigns, but most voters actually respond to it pretty well," Marson said. "If the polling says that one of these issues will move a voter, you better believe an opposition candidate will use that against them in their mailers and TV ads and digital ads."

Galán-Woods is the widow of former Republican Arizona Attorney General, and the questions about being a lifelong Democrat, supporting Republicans in the past and opposing abortion rights seem aimed squarely at her, as does the question about gender, since she is the only woman in the race. Like her former husband, she left the Republican Party amid the rise of former President Donald Trump.

A mailer sent in the race already has attacked her over her past and accused her of not supporting the right to abortion. Her campaign site states that she has always supported a woman's right to choose.

Her campaign declined to comment on the possibility these issues will be used to attack her during the race.

Because both Cherny and O'Callaghan have worked in the financial services industry, those questions could be aimed at either one of them. Both campaigns declined to comment on how they would respond to such attacks.

Cherny has received campaign contributions in this race and in a prior campaign from people involved with the No Labels party, which could present a third-party challenger for president next year, and he lost a 2012 congressional primary, a 2010 race for state treasurer, and a 2002 race for the California Assembly when he was in his 20s. His campaign declined to comment on that.

The question about living in the district could be aimed at Shah, whose listed address in Phoenix is in the 2nd Congressional District.

Shah's campaign said that prior to the recent redistricting, Shah's home was in the district, and that he is planning to move into the district. Also, he works at Mayo Clinic, which is in the 1st district, and the legislative district he represents at the state level includes part of district where he's running.

EMILYs List, a national organization that advocates for abortion rights, has endorsed Galán-Woods, and said the poll was targeting her because she is a strong candidate.

“Winning this seat could stop a national abortion ban and protect democracy from Republican extremists like David Schweikert, and Marlene Galán-Woods is the strongest candidate in the race," spokesperson Danni Wang said in a statement to The Republic. "That’s why groups like EMILYs List, the UFCW, the NEA/AEA, the International Association of Firefighters and more are supporting her. She’s our best chance to bring pro-choice and pro-democracy representation to Arizona’s first congressional district.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Poll tests negative ads on Democrats running in Arizona's CD1