Most candidates in 3 Southern Arizona House races will advance to general election

Only one primary race in Arizona House legislative districts 19, 21 and 23 is contested, with three Democrats vying for their party's two spots in the District 21 general election in November.

The remaining races in those districts feature candidates who will automatically move on to the November ballot. 

The districts represent mostly southern and eastern Arizona, except for LD23, which stretches mostly west of Tucson from the international border north to Yuma and on up to Phoenix.

District 19

Two Republican incumbents and one Democratic candidate are running in this uncontested Aug. 2 primary race and will automatically make it to the Nov. 8 general election ballot. Voters in each party can vote for two nominees. The district includes portions of Pima, Santa Cruz, Graham, Greenlee and Cochise counties, including the city of Douglas.

Incumbent Lupe Diaz of Benson is a conservative representing District 14 after being appointed in November 2021 to replace Rep. Becky Nutt of Clifton. Nutt reportedly resigned for personal reasons. Diaz is pastor of Grace Christian Center and is seeking re-election in District 19.

Gail Griffin of Hereford is the other incumbent, and she has lived in Cochise County for 53 years and in District 19 for 26 years. She is a real estate broker and a former state senator.

Democrat Sanda Clark of Green Valley is a concert pianist who escaped communism in her native Romania. She has lived in Pima County for 18 years and in District 19 four years.

District 21

Two Republican write-in candidates and three Democratic candidates are running in this district that encompasses western Pima County, about half of Santa Cruz County and the city of Bisbee in Cochise County. The two Republican candidates are uncontested and will advance to the November election.

Republican Damien Kennedy of Amado has lived in Pima County for 15 years and in District 21 for one year. He is listed in state documents as an employee of Amado Management. The business is a medical marijuana production complex and Kennedy works to provide genetic acquisitions and analytical analysis to create "medical cannabis strains that will better help patients across Arizona and beyond," states his LinkedIn account. 

Republican Deborah McEwen of Rio Rico has lived in both Santa Cruz County and District 21 for five years. The native of Howell, Michigan, is a retired federal and state criminal justice employee.

The Democrats are:

Consuelo Hernandez of Tucson, who is a graduate of Sunnyside High School and now serves as president of the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board. She has lived in Pima County for 29 years and in District 21 for one year. Hernandez received a bachelor's in global health from Arizona State University and has provided public health services at free clinics in Panama and Ghana, has hosted free citizenship clinics in Tucson and has raised money for students to pay for their DACA renewals. Her Democrats of Greater Tucson campaign website, tucne.ws/1kw6, says she is "committed to restoring funding for education, rebuilding Arizona's economy, and investing in infrastructure and renewable energy."

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Akanni "Oye" Oyegbola of Tucson has lived in Pima County for seven years and in District 21 for one year. He 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. His candidate website, www.akanniforaz.org, says Arizona has to raise pay for teachers. "We can't develop well-educated children if we don't have well-paid and qualified teachers. Those who educate our next generation shouldn't have to work multiple jobs to care for their own families." He also supports "affordable, quality health care for every Arizonan" and "alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders."

Stephanie Stahl Hamilton of Tucson is an ordained minister and serves as parish associate at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church. She was born in Flagstaff and during her childhood she spent years on the Navajo Nation. She received her master's of divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary. 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. Her campaign website, stahlhamiltonforaz.com, says children "deserve a fully funded education"; to protect the environment "regulations need to be put into place regarding water use, ranching, farming and mining"; and "access to reproductive health care and contraception should be readily available and legal, regardless of economic status or race."

The top two Democrats will advance to November.

District 23

One Republican write-in candidate and two Democrats are running in this uncontested race. The sprawling district runs mostly west of Tucson from the international border to Yuma and meanders up to Phoenix. It includes the Tohono O'odham Nation, a small section of Tucson's southwest side and portions of Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, Pinal and Maricopa counties.

Republican Michele Pena, who was born and raised in Yuma, has lived in District 23 for two years. She works for ALCO Harvesting, an agriculture business that manages farm workers in California and Arizona.

Democrat Jesus Lugo Jr. of Gadsden is a native of Yuma. He is a social worker who has lived in Maricopa County for four years and in District 23 for 24 years. He received a bachelor's from Arizona State University in 2014.

Democrat Mariana Sandoval of Goodyear grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. She is a graduate of Los Angeles Mission College with a degree in interdisciplinary and paralegal studies. She is a former paralegal in the Arizona Attorney General's office and a board member of the Agua Fria Union High School District and the Arizona Latino School Board Association.

Further information on all candidates, including their nomination papers and financial disclosure statements, is available online at azsos.gov/elections.