Jill torrance / Arizona Daily star

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A three-term incumbent was in jeopardy of getting booted out of his legislative seat Tuesday night, while one state representative with hopes of winning a state Senate seat was locked in a tight GOP primary.

State Rep. Tom Prezelski, a Democrat from District 29, was trailing two other candidates in his seven-way party primary, where the top two vote-getters move on to the Nov. 4 general election.

Matt Heinz, a doctor, and Daniel Patterson, an environmental activist, led in the South Side primary, with about 26 percent and 18 percent of the vote, respectively.

Prezelski had about 14 percent in early returns.

"What I'm hearing from people at the polls was that there was really anemic turnout, and I suspect that I'm probably going to end up being one of the top vote-getters," said Heinz, who pegged his campaign efforts on early voting in anticipation of fewer voters actually going to the polls.

More than half the votes counted as of press time came from early balloting, which was expected to account for the majority of votes cast in the primary.

Patterson also spoke confidently about the results.

"We were hopeful and confident," said Patterson, who said his mix of television ads, campaign Web site updates and blog postings paced his performance. "The voters in District 29, for a long time, haven't been talked to. They haven't been listened to for a while."

Prezelski was appointed to the district's seat by the Pima County Board of Supervisors in February 2003, and he subsequently won two low-profile elections. But this year, the race took on a new dimension, with a crowded field and fierce campaigning.

The two winning Democrats in this largely Democratic district will face Republicans Juan Ciscomani and Pat Kilburn in November.

On Tucson's North Side, in District 26, state Rep. Pete Hershberger was locked in a tight race with fellow Republican Al Melvin for a state Senate seat nomination.

Melvin led by about 600 votes in early returns.

The race pitted two different personalities and ideologies, with Hershberger a moderate and Melvin a conservative. Early ballot returns showed that Hershberger's advantage in Pima County was trumped by Melvin's lead in Pinal County.

"I anticipated it would be real close," said Hershberger, adding, "I'm disappointed by the low voter turnout."

Melvin, though, said he was surprised by the closeness of the race. "I clearly laid out the differences between us," he said. Melvin beat another moderate Republican in 2006, only to lose in the general election.

The district, which includes the Foothills, Oro Valley and parts of Marana, is key for Republicans in the November general election. Although it leans Republican and has historically gone that way, in 2006, Democrats picked up both the Senate seat and one House seat in District 26.

Democrats generally see a win by Melvin as greatly increasing the chances for their candidate in November, Cheryl Cage.

In District 27, which covers much of the West Side, House incumbents Olivia Cajero Bedford and Phil Lopes were well ahead of Democratic challenger John Kromko, a former lawmaker himself.

The District 30 Republican House primary was too close to call, though Sierra Vista resident David Gowan appeared to have locked up one of two nominations for the general election based on early returns.

"You always have to keep your fingers on the pulse of the district," said Gowan, who ran unsuccessfully for a House seat in District 30 in 2004 and 2006.

Gowan had about 31 percent of the vote, while fewer than 200 votes separated Doug Sposito, Frank Antenori and Sharon Collins for the second nomination.

In District 23, a mostly Pinal County district, Democratic House incumbent Barbara McGuire and former state legislator Ernest Bustamante held decisive leads over Krista Pacion and Dorian Bond with about 96 percent of the ballots counted.

In the District 26 House Republican primary, Vic Williams appeared to have secured one of the two nominations, while Trent Humphries had only a 19-vote lead over Marilyn Zerull after more than 17,500 votes had been counted in early returns.