Political Notebook: Legislative races on Tucson's west side get competitive

Big races are shaping up in Tucson's west-side legislative district, headlined by what could be a slugfest for the Democratic nomination for Senate. 

In Legislative District 20, Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales has served the maximum four terms in the upper chamber, leaving an open seat that is being contested by two potentially powerful candidates, if not more. 

Rep. Alma Hernandez has also topped out with four terms in the House and is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate. Now she is being challenged by one-time Tucson City Council member Rocque Perez, who served on the council for most of 2025 after being appointed to replace Richard Fimbres.

That race, Hernandez vs. Perez, pits two members of the dominant political clans in the south and west sides against each other. Perez has been affiliated with the Grijalva group, although he has not yet obtained U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva's endorsement, nor that of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. Hernandez is a member of the three-sibling family — Daniel, Alma and Consuelo — all of whom have held political office.

In fact, Consuelo Hernandez is a representative in the southside Legislative District 21 and is running for re-election this year. 

Perez's run, which he announced after Hernandez filed for the Senate seat, amounts to a frontal effort to remove her, an effort he launched with an op-ed in the Star last month. 

In an interview, Perez said he decided to run against Hernandez because "she’s not been an ally to other Democrats in Tucson and in the Legislature. (Her) breaking with Democrats has been super-disheartening."

"It’s not that we hate Alma and want her out," he said. "We just want Tucson to have a representative."

He also pointed to Hernandez's frequent defenses of Israel in the Legislature as a problem, accusing her of "being focused only on interests of Israel in the Legislature, not what’s happening in Tucson."

In an email, Hernandez categorically rejected Perez's criticisms of her actions as a Democrat and a legislator. 

"Over the last seven years, my record demonstrates consistent and effective support for Democratic priorities; funding the Housing Trust Fund, expanded KidsCare, and voted to repeal the archaic near-complete abortion ban."

"Over my time in the Arizona House of Representatives, at 32 I have built one of the most effective records of any Democrat in the Arizona Legislature in decades," she added. "I have passed 10 laws signed by both Republican and Democratic governors, more than any Democrat has done in the last 40 years."

As to her focus on issues related to Israel, she said, "My identity and my values do not detract from my service, I am beyond proud of serving as the first Mexican-American Jewish woman."

LD 20 House races competitive too

The races for the district's two House seats also promise to be competitive. Incumbent Rep. Betty Villegas is running for re-election in the Democratic primary. 

Gonzales, the current senator, is also running for the Democratic nomination for House. Three other Democrats have also filed statements of interest to run for the two seats: Genoveva Diaz, Ben Koehler and Rob Young.

Enough candidates have filed statements of interest on the Republican side to create a competitive race there, too, despite the district's heavy Democratic tilt.

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Jorge Paredes, Trevor Parrish and Katherine Weasel have all filed statements of interest to run in the Republican primary.  

All the Democratic candidates in LD 20 must get 495 valid signatures on their petitions to qualify for the ballot. Republicans must get 290 signatures. 

GOP chair candidates from Tucson

The Democratic stronghold of Southern Arizona has one — or two, depending on how you count it — candidate running for chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

Out of the four current candidates, one is the current chair of the Pima County GOP, Kathleen Winn. She won election as chair of the county party a year ago and has a year to go on her term, but has thrown her hat in as a candidate to head the state party.

She's joined by former Tucson resident Sergio Arellano, who now lives in the Phoenix area while maintaining connections here. He previously ran for GOP state chair against Kelli Ward but lost in an election that was wracked by accusations of misconduct.

The other two candidates are Bob Branch, a former candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Pam Kirby, who was executive director of the party under Ward.

The seat is open, or potentially open, because Gina Swoboda, the current chair, is running for the Republican nomination for Congress in Congressional District 1. Swoboda told the state committee they should feel free to replace her due to that run. 

"Because I got into the CD1 race, I felt it was necessary to give the state committee the opportunity to put somebody else in," she said. "They could, theoretically, decide to keep me."

The state party meeting that will decide the outcome is Jan. 24 in Prescott Valley. 

One Dem left in CD 6

The number of candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Congressional District 6 has risen and fallen for months.

Now it is down to a simple number: 1. 

On Dec. 29, Samantha Severson announced she is dropping out of the Democratic race. That leaves just JoAnna Mendoza as a candidate. 

"The barriers of running for office at this time do not support the work I have done and plan to do in the future for my community," Severson said in a press release. "I still believe the most important things congressional leadership needs to focus on is Medicare for all, and getting money out of politics."

The winner of the Democratic nomination is likely to face incumbent Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who is completing his second two-year term.

Democrats and Republicans agree that the district stretching from Pinal County, across the eastern Tucson area to southeastern Cochise County is likely to be one of the most competitive in the country.