Between June 24 and July 21, Arizona voters can participate in choosing which state and local candidates they want to see on the ballot in November.

This voter guide includes some state elections, focusing on Pima County and certain competitive races. In some races, we included more information about candidates when they participated in recent debates or Arizona Luminaria has written about them in the past. You can read all our voting stories here.

Why vote in the primary election?

About a third of all Arizona voters typically participate in primary elections, according to numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. So why bother voting in the primary? 

A couple of reasons:

Some races will be decided in the primary, including certain legislative seats in districts that lean heavily toward one party, such as District 20, where Democrats Alma Hernandez and Rocque Perez will vie for a state senate seat.

Plus, there are some nonpartisan municipal-level elections, including the town of Marana and the tiny city of South Tucson. If you live in one of those cities or towns, you may want a say in choosing your town council or city council members. Nonpartisan means there won’t be party labels alongside the candidates’ names. 

How can I check my voter registration details?

Use this tool to check whether you’re registered to vote, which party you’re registered with, whether you need to update your address, or whether you’re on the early voting list.

You must have registered to vote by June 22 to participate in the primary election.

How can I find a polling place or a vote center?

You can vote early in-person June 24 – July 17. See early voting locations in Pima County.

You can also vote in-person on primary election day, July 21. Use this tool to find a polling place using your address and remember to bring ID.

How can I vote by mail?

On June 24, ballots are mailed to eligible voters on the Active Early Voting List and other eligible voters who have requested a one-time ballot by mail. 

July 10 is the last day to request a ballot by mail — go to the Arizona Voter Information Portal. If you’re in Pima County, you can request a ballot by mail from the county recorder’s office. Find links for all counties.

Mail back your ballot by July 14. You can also drop off a mail-in ballot to be counted on primary election day.

What if I’m an independent voter?

Primaries can be confusing for independent voters in Arizona. If you’re not affiliated with a political party, you can vote in Arizona’s primary election, but you’ll need to take an extra step or two.

Independents who want to vote in person may ask for a ballot for one party when you arrive at a polling place.

Independents who are on the Early Voting List will receive a postcard in the mail asking them to choose which party ballot they wish to receive.

Independents who are not on the Early Voting List but still prefer to vote by mail may request a ballot by mail. July 10 is the last day to request a ballot by mail. See details above.


U.S. House of Representatives

Use this tool to look up which district you live in.

U.S. Representative – Congressional District 6

This district — represented by Republican Juan Ciscomani — is considered a swing district with a history of close elections. It includes parts of Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Graham and Greenlee counties.

This contest is expected to heat up after the primary. With no primary opponents, all candidates are effectively already their parties’ nominees heading into the November general election. You’ll only see one name on your ballot in the primary election.

Other candidates on ballots in the primary include Libertarian Jereme Lance Peters and Green candidate Gary Swing is running a write-in campaign.

U.S. Representative – Congressional District 7

This district — represented by Democrat Adelita Grijalva — stretches along the U.S.-México border and includes parts of six counties: Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, Cochise, Maricopa and Pinal as well as several tribal nations including the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham.

Voters chose Grijalva in a special election in September 2025 to take the seat that was held by her father, the late Raúl Grijalva, for more than two decades.

With no primary opponents, all candidates are effectively already their parties’ nominees heading into the November general election. You’ll only see one name on your ballot in the primary election.

State-level elected officials

Arizona Governor

Arizonans will vote a bit differently for governor this year: for the first time, primary winners will choose a lieutenant governor as a running mate for the general election.

The winner of each party’s primary will face incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs in the general election. Hobbs is unopposed in her party’s primary, so Democrats will only see one name on their primary ballot.

Republicans

Arizona Republicans and independent voters who pick a Republican ballot can choose between four candidates. A debate is planned for Wednesday, June 17.

Frontrunner Andy Biggs, a far right conservative who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and David Schweikert both currently represent Arizona districts in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Schweikert is a moderate conservative whose reputation was dinged by campaign finance ethics violations.

The other two Republican candidates are Ken Miceli, a Scottsdale construction company owner and podcast host, and Scott Neely, a Mesa concrete contractor.

Roles in Jan. 6 events:

Biggs: According to GovTrack, Biggs joined a Supreme Court case seeking to discard presidential votes in four Democratic-won states, participated in a coordinated campaign to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to exclude Democratic states from the electoral count, urged the Arizona legislature to discard its presidential election results, voted in the hours after the Jan. 6 insurrection to omit Arizona and/or Pennsylvania from the electoral count, and later defied a subpoena from the House January 6th Committee.

Schweikert: According to GovTrack, in the hours after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Schweikert voted to reject the state-certified election results of Arizona and/or Pennsylvania, which could have changed the outcome of the presidential election.

Green

Risa Lombardo is the only Green candidate who will appear on the ballot; however, the Arizona Green Party is “actively opposed” to her candidacy and endorsed write-in candidate Carlos Melendez instead.

There are two other candidates running as write-ins for the Green nomination. They are: Athena Eastwood, who is labeled by the party as “not endorsed,” and William “Rex” Pounds, whose campaign is “actively opposed” by the party.

No Labels

Arizona Secretary of State

The highest-profile duty of this office is overseeing elections.

The winner of the Republican primary will face incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes and Green party candidate Duwayne Collier in the general election. With no primary opponents, Fontes and Collier are effectively already their parties’ nominees heading into the November general election. Democrat and Green voters will only see one name on their ballot in the primary election.

The Arizona Green Party is “actively opposed” to Collier’s candidacy, instead endorsing write-in candidate Jon Ralston.

Republican candidate and current state Rep. Alexander Kolodin was involved in several election-fraud lawsuits following 2020, including the “kraken” lawsuit rejected in federal court, and was sanctioned by the state bar for representing Arizona’s “fake electors” who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential results.

Candidate Gina Swoboda is the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party and she has Trump’s endorsement. She previously worked in the Secretary of State’s office. She has challenged policies designed to make voting easier, including suing to block executive orders by Gov. Hobbs that expanded voter registration and ballot access — a lawsuit the Arizona Supreme Court dismissed.

Watch the two debate.

Arizona Attorney General

The AG is the state’s chief law enforcement officer, with a focus on consumer protections, enforcement actions, litigation, and defending or challenging state laws. The AG has significant discretion about which laws to defend or challenge. After incumbent Democrat Kris Mayes narrowly won in 2022, she refused to defend the state’s abortion law. The courts struck it down as unconstitutional. Mayes has joined 42 lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Republican challenger Warren Petersen is currently president of the Arizona State Senate. And Republican candidate Rodney Glassman served on the Tucson City Council as a Democrat before he switched parties in 2015. The primary debate got sharp. Watch it here.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Mayes in the general election. Mayes is running unopposed in the primary, so Democrat voters will only see one name on their ballot.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Republican incumbent Tom Horne faces State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, while mental health worker Brett Newby and former Glendale Community College president Teresa Leyba Ruiz compete for the Democratic nomination. The winners will face off in the general election.

The race centers on the future of the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program — now serving more than 100,000 students at nearly $1 billion annually — with three of four candidates calling for tighter oversight after audits found widespread misspending. Candidates are also grappling with the federal Department of Education’s dismantling, a court-ordered $3 billion school funding shortfall, DEI curriculum scrutiny and the closure of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

More on this race

Arizona Corporation Commission

The five-member Arizona Corporation Commission decides how much Arizonans pay for electricity, gas and water — and they will address rising concerns about data centers and renewable energy. Two seats are up in 2026. Voters will choose two of the candidates on their ballot. At stake is Tucson Electric Power’s rate case.

Mike Cease is running as a write-in candidate for the Green party.

Republicans

Voters will choose two of the three candidates in this primary to advance to the general election. Incumbents Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers participated in a candidate debate in May, where they defended the formula rates framework that TEP is using to seek rate increases. Watch it here.

Democrats

Clara Pratte and Jonathon Hill are running as a team. With no additional candidates in this primary, they are effectively already their party’s nominees heading into the November general election.

Arizona State Senate

Use this tool to look up which district you live in.

District 17 Republican primary

Republican-leaning District 17 wraps around the Catalina Mountains to include parts of Marana, Oro Valley, Saddlebrooke and Vail. Incumbent Republican Vince Leach is not seeking reelection.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Edgar Soto in the general election. Soto is unopposed in his party’s primary, so Democrats will only see one name on their primary ballot.

Watch Republican candidates Anthony Dunham and Chris King debate here.

District 20 Democratic primary

Majority-Latino and Democratic-dominated District 20 covers urban areas of Tucson including the University of Arizona, downtown, Flowing Wells, South Tucson, and Drexel Heights, plus part of the Pascua Yaqui nation and the rural Avra Valley area. The seat is open because incumbent Democrat Sally Ann Gonzales is termed out of the state senate and is running for a House seat in this district.

Watch the Democratic candidates — state Rep. Alma Hernandez, who is termed out of the House, and former Tucson City Council member Rocque Perez — debate here.

🔖 Read more about this race

Rocque Perez on schools, water and housing in LD20 | Tucson Spotlight, May 22, 2026

Alma Hernandez on water, ESAs and housing in LD20 | Tucson Spotlight, May 21, 2026

Arizona State House

Use this tool to look up which district you live in.

District 19 Republican primary

Republican-heavy District 19 is a border district that includes parts of Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Graham counties and all of Greenlee County.

Voters will choose two candidates to represent the party in the general election. Incumbent Lupe Diaz is running for reelection. Current state Senator David Gowan is termed out in the Senate and seeking a House seat. Challenging them is Cheryl Caswell. Incumbent Representative Gail Griffin is termed out in the House and running unopposed for the State Senate seat in this district.

The two GOP winners will face Democrats Jackie O’Donnell Anderson and Aiden Swallow. They are unopposed in their party’s primary, so Democrats will only see two names on their primary ballot.

District 20 Democratic primary

Majority-Latino and Democratic-dominated District 20 covers urban areas of Tucson including the University of Arizona, downtown, Flowing Wells, South Tucson, and Drexel Heights, plus part of the Pascua Yaqui nation and the rural Avra Valley area.

Voters will choose two candidates. No Republicans are on the ballot but Katherine Weasel is running a write-in campaign.

Incumbent Democrat Betty Villegas is seeking reelection. Her seat mate, Alma Hernandez, has reached her term limit in the House and she is running for the State Senate seat in this district.

Sally Ann Gonzales is the current senator in the district, and she has reached her term limit in that chamber, so she is seeking a House seat. The other candidates are teachers Ben Koehler and Genoveva Diaz.

District 21 Democratic primary

District 21 is a majority-Latino border district that includes parts of Tucson and Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.

Voters will choose two of four candidates to advance to the general election. Incumbents Consuelo Hernandez and Stephanie Stahl Hamilton are seeking reelection and are challenged by Maritza Higuera and Miranda Lopez. Watch the Democrats debate.

The two winners will face Republican Christopher Kibbey in the general election. Kibbey is unopposed in his party’s primary, so Republicans will only see one name on their primary ballot in this race.

District 23 Democratic primary

This mostly-Yuma border district also includes parts of Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties and part of the Tohono O’odham Nation. It is a Latino-majority district. It could be considered a swing district.

Voters will choose two of four candidates to advance to the general election. Incumbent Mariana Sandoval is seeking another term. Challengers are Emilia Cortez, Juan Manuel Guerrero and Naomi Miguel.

The two winners will face Republicans Gary Garcia Snyder and incumbent Michele Peña in the general election. With no primary opponents, they are effectively already the GOP nominees heading into the general election. Republicans will only see two names on their primary ballot in this race.

Municipal-level elected officials

City of South Tucson

Town of Marana

$
$
$

Your contribution is appreciated.

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print.

Becky Pallack is the Operations Executive at Arizona Luminaria. She's been a journalist in Arizona since 1999. Contact: bpallack@azluminaria.org