Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
In less than a year, Arizonans will be heading to the ballot box and choosing who to lead the state and who to send to Congress for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.
These are some of the candidates who have thus far thrown their hats in the ring for statewide offices and the US House of Representatives.
Statewide offices
Since 2022, Democrats in Arizona have held the top three statewide offices for the first time since 1974. Now, they will enter a challenge to keep them.
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Governor
Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs is running for reelection. She has vetoed a record number of bills sent to her desk by the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Hobbs has cancelled Arizonans’ medical debt, expanded affordable child care, and promised to deliver border security. The former secretary of state previously served in the state Legislature for eight years before beating out far-right former news anchor Kari Lake in 2022 for the governor’s office.
Longtime Republican US Rep. Andy Biggs is Trump-endorsed, backed by Turning Point USA, and served as former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. Biggs denied the results of the 2020 election and was involved in planning the Jan. 6 insurrection on the US Capitol.
Karrin Taylor Robson, a Republican lobbyist and businesswoman, also endorsed by Trump, is in her second bid for governor after she lost the Republican primary to Kari Lake in 2022.
Republican US Rep. David Schweikert, first elected to Congress in 2010, abandoned his congressional reelection bid to run for governor. Schweikert made headlines recently for calling Medicaid cut critiques ‘whining and bedwetting.’
Former Democratic state lawmaker Leezah Sun is running as an independent candidate. Sun was nearly expelled from the state legislature for intimidation and making threats against other lawmakers, lobbyists, and city employees.
Secretary of State
Democrat Adrian Fontes is the incumbent—a Marine Corps veteran and attorney, who has defended Arizona’s elections from far-right challenges.
Republican State Rep. Alexander Kolodin is a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, and former lawyer for the Arizona Republican party. Kolodin wants to limit voting access, and he denied the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Attorney General
Kris Mayes, incumbent, is a Democrat who has made waves nationally with her slew of lawsuits against the Trump administration’s abuses of power. She won her election in 2022 by 280 votes.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, a far-right Republican who champions conservative values. He is a real estate broker who got his license to practice law in December 2023.
Rodney Glassman is a Republican currently being investigated by prosecutors in Coconino County for campaign finance violations made over the last two years. Glassman previously ran for the GOP nomination for attorney general in 2022.
Treasurer
Republican Elijah Norton is a businessman and former treasurer of the Arizona Republican Party.
Democratic candidate, Nick Mansour, is a businessman who most recently served as chairman of the Arizona College of Nursing. He has said he will bring a CEO approach to the office.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Horne, Republican incumbent, who has backed private-school vouchers and led a crusade against bilingual education, set up a hotline to report teachers who teach critical race theory in their classrooms.
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Current Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, a Republican, was recruited to run by Arizona Freedom Caucus leader, Sen. Jake Hoffman, who believes Horne wants too much oversight on private-school vouchers.
Democratic candidate, Michael Butts, a former school board member and assistant principal, wants to protect public schools.
Dr. Terry Leyba Ruiz, a career educator and the former president of Glendale Community College, wants to bring an educator’s perspective and responsible leadership to the education chief’s office. Ruiz has the endorsement of former Supt. of Public Instruction, Kathy Hoffman.
US House of Representatives
District 1
Over 20 individuals have filed statements of interest to run for the Republican-leaning seat Schweikert held for 15 years and left vacant to run for governor.
Gina Swoboda is a Trump-endorsed Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman.
John Trobough is a Republican tech executive supported by Turning Point USA.
Voting rights attorney Mark Robert Gordon is a Democrat who previously ran for Arizona secretary of state in 2018.
Dr. Amish Shah, Democrat, is a former state Rep. who lost to Schweikert last year by just under 4%.
Democrat Marlene Galán-Woods, a former broadcast journalist, previously ran in the 2024 CD1 Democratic primary. She is endorsed by several prominent Democrats, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, former Governor and US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and other state and local officials.
Republican state Rep. Joseph Chaplik is a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, who has gathered endorsements of several Republican state lawmakers.
Democrat Rick McCartney is a media publishing businessman who is well-connected in Arizona’s philanthropic and civic groups.
Democrat Jonathan Treble, is an entrepreneur and small-business owner looking to bring his young perspective to Congress.
District 2
Rep. Eli Crane, is the Republican incumbent and a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. He does not live within the district, which covers more land than any other congressional district in Arizona.
Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, a Democrat, ran against Crane in 2024, but lost with 45% of the vote to Crane’s 54% entered the race.
Former Arizona State Rep. Eric Descheenie is running as a Democrat.
If either beat out Crane, Nez or Descheenie would be the first Native American to have a seat in Congress from Arizona—in a district that includes 14 Tribal Nations, which was redrawn in 2021 to offer a Republican registration advantage.
District 3
Current US Rep. Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat, is running for reelection in the heavily blue district that covers Phoenix, Glendale, and Guadalupe.
Democrat Sandy Cano-Bravo, a realtor, is challenging her.
District 4
Current US Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat, is running for reelection in the heavily blue district that covers much of the East Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
District 5
Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is running to fill US Rep. Andy Biggs’ seat, as he runs for governor. The East Valley congressional district is heavily Republican.
Former GOP state Rep. Travis Grantham is among a number of other heavily MAGA candidates, including Jay Feely, a CBS Sports analyst and former Arizona Cardinals football player.
Democrat Elizabeth Lee is a reproductive health nurse who wants to tackle health care reform in Congress.
District 6
Republican Juan Ciscomani, incumbent, won his seat by just 2.5 percentage points in 2024 and is running for reelection in the southern Arizona district.
Democrat and retired US Marine JoAnna Mendoza, who has the endorsement of both Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego and a number of Democratic-aligned organizations, is running to unseat Ciscomani.
District 7
Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who was just sworn in after a special election for her late father’s seat, will have to run again in 2026 to secure a two-year term.
District 8
Republican Rep. Abe Hamedeh is an incumbent running for reelection in the district covering suburbs north and west of Phoenix. Hamedeh previously challenged Attorney General Kris Mayes in 2022 and asked the courts to overturn the election results of his loss.
Democrat Alexander Smothers is a 25-year-old progressive organizer challenging Hamedeh.
District 9
Rep. Paul Gosar, incumbent running for reelection in the heavily Republican district that covers western Arizona. Gosar denied the results of the 2020 election and was involved in planning the Jan. 6 insurrection on the US Capitol.
Editor’s note: This list is liable to grow or change as candidates enter and drop out of races across Arizona.
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