Democratic candidates Consuelo Hernandez and Stephanie Stahl Hamilton were leading in Arizona House Legislative District 21 in unofficial primary election results late Tuesday night.
The two candidates, Hernandez with 46% of the vote and Hamilton with 33%, have strong leads over Akanni "Oye" Oyegbola, a third Democratic candidate with 21%. The three candidates are from Tucson.
Hernandez serves as president of the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board and campaigned on her commitment "to restoring funding for education, rebuilding Arizona's economy, and investing in infrastructure and renewable energy."
Hamilton is an ordained minister and serves as parish associate at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church. She was elected in 2020 as a state representative, and last October she was appointed to replace District 10 Sen. Kirsten Engel who resigned to run for Congress. As a result of redistricting, she is running in District 21 as a representative instead of the state senate. She has campaigned to fully fund education, protect the environment, and access to reproductive health care and contraception.
Oyegbola has served as acting mayor of the city of South Tucson, as a council member and also served on several committees for the city, having six years of government experience. Oyegbola is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, and was raised in Washington, D.C. He supports teacher raises, a well-funded educational system, and affordable, quality health care.ย
District 21 encompasses western Pima County, about half of Santa Cruz County and the city of Bisbee in Cochise County.ย
The two Republican candidates, Damien Kennedy, of Amado, and Deborah McEwen, of Rio Rico, were uncontested and will advance to the Nov. 8 general election, where voters will select two candidates to represent the House district.
