2006 Arizona Legislature election
Elections to the 48th Arizona Legislature were held on November 7, 2006. Primary elections to determine political party nominees were held on September 12, 2006. The two candidates with the highest vote count in each primary advanced to the November election.
| Elections in Arizona |
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The Legislature is composed of 30 legislative districts, each electing two Representatives (to the Arizona House of Representatives) and one Senator (to the Arizona Senate). No person may serve more than four consecutive terms in either body. Members of the Republican Party currently hold a majority of seats in both the House and Senate.
State House of Representatives
| District | Incumbents | Party | Status | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Mason Tom O'Halleran |
Republican Republican |
Running Running for State Senate |
Andy Tobin (R) Wesley Edmonds (D) George Seaman (I) |
| 2 | Ann Kirkpatrick Albert Tom |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Running |
Preston J. Korn (R) |
| 3 | Trish Groe Nancy McLain |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Luis Lopez (D) |
| 4 | Tom Boone Judy Burges |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Debra Boehlke (D) Sue Dolphin (D) |
| 5 | Jack Brown Bill Konopnicki |
Democratic Republican |
Running Running |
|
| 6 | Ted Carpenter Pamela Gorman |
Republican Republican |
Running for State Senate Running for State Senate |
Doug Clark (R) Sam Crump (R) |
| 7 | Ray Barnes Nancy K. Barto |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Marilyn Fox (D) Jeanne Lunn (D) Jim Iannuzo (L) |
| 8 | Michele Reagan Colette Rosati |
Republican Republican |
Running Retiring |
John Kavanagh (R) Stephanie Rimmer (D) H. William Sandburg (D) |
| 9 | Rick Murphy Bob Stump |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Sheri van Horsen (D) |
| 10 | Doug Quelland James P. Weiers |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Lamont Lovejoy (D) Jackie Thrasher (D) |
| 11 | John Allen Stephen Tully |
Republican Republican |
Retiring Retiring |
Adam Driggs (R) Don Hesselbrock (R) Mark Anthony DeSimone (D) |
| 12 | John Nelson Jerry Weiers |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
None |
| 13 | Steve Gallardo Martha Garcia |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Running |
None |
| 14 | Debbie McCune-Davis Robert Meza |
Democratic Democratic |
Running for State Senate Running |
Chad Campbell (D) John Stevens (R) Mike Renzulli (L) |
| 15 | David Lujan Kyrsten Sinema |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Running |
Robert Gear (R) William Wheat (R) (write-in) Richard Buck (L) |
| 16 | Leah Landrum Taylor Ben Miranda |
Democratic Democratic |
Running for State Senate Running |
Cloves Campbell, Jr. (D) Daniel Coleman (R) |
| 17 | Meg Burton Cahill Laura Knaperek |
Democratic Republican |
Running for State Senate Running |
Ed Ableser (D) David Schapira (D) Dale Despain (R) |
| 18 | Mark Anderson Russell Pearce |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Tammie Pursley (D) |
| 19 | Kirk Adams Gary Pierce |
Republican Republican |
Running Running for Arizona Corporation Commission |
Rich Crandall (R) Lara Wibeto (D) |
| 20 | John McComish Bob Robson |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Jack Heald (L) |
| 21 | Warde Nichols Steve Yarbrough |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Phil Hettmansperger (D) |
| 22 | Andy Biggs Eddie Farnsworth |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Edward Schwebel (L) |
| 23 | Cheryl Chase Pete Rios |
Republican Democratic |
Running for State Senate Running |
John Fillmore (R) Frank Pratt (R) Barbara McGuire (D) |
| 24 | Amanda Aguirre Russell Jones |
Democratic Republican |
Running for State Senate Running for State Senate |
Joseph "Mel" Melchione (R) Ken Rosevar (R) Lynne Pancrazi (D) Theresa Ulmer (D) Martin Rodney (I) |
| 25 | Manuel Alvarez Jennifer Burns |
Democratic Republican |
Running Running |
Patricia Fleming (D) Gail Griffin (R) |
| 26 | Pete Hershberger Steve Huffman |
Republican Republican |
Running Retiring |
David Jorgenson (R) Lena Saradnik (D) |
| 27 | Olivia Cajero Bedford Phil Lopes |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Running |
Gene Chewning (R) |
| 28 | David Bradley Ted Downing |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Retiring |
Steve Farley (D) Bill Phillips (R) |
| 29 | Linda Lopez Tom Prezelski |
Democratic Democratic |
Running Running |
Bruce Murchison (R) |
| 30 | Marian McClure Jonathan Paton |
Republican Republican |
Running Running |
Clarence Boykins (D) |
State Senate
| District | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Bennett | Republican | Retiring | Tom O'Halleran (R) Josephine Kelleher (D) Terry Dunn (L) |
Tom O'Halleran (R) |
| 2 | Albert Hale | Democratic | Running | Royce Jenkins (R) Mark Haughwout (I) |
Albert Hale (D) |
| 3 | Ron Gould | Republican | Running | Noah Harris (D) | Ron Gould (R) |
| 4 | Jack Harper | Republican | Running | Ed Gogek (D) | Jack Harper (R) |
| 5 | Jake Flake | Republican | Running | Phil Cobb (D) | Jake Flake (R) |
| 6 | Dean Martin | Republican | Running for State Treasurer | Pamela Gorman (R) Jim Larson (D) | |
| 7 | Jim Waring | Republican | Running | Lisa Black (D) | |
| 8 | Carolyn Allen | Republican | Running | Dan Oseran (D) | |
| 9 | Bob Burns | Republican | Running | Steve Poe (D) | |
| 10 | Linda Gray | Republican | Running | Martin Monroe (D) Dan Poland (L) | |
| 11 | Barbara Leff | Republican | Running | Ann Wallack (D) | |
| 12 | Robert Blendu | Republican | Running | None | |
| 13 | Richard Miranda | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 14 | Bill Brotherton | Democratic | Retiring | Debbie McCune-Davis (D) | |
| 15 | Ken Cheuvront | Democratic | Running | Andrew Smigielski (R) | |
| 16 | Linda Aguirre | Democratic | Retiring | Leah Landrum (D) Daniel Veres (R) | |
| 17 | Ed Ableser | Democratic | Running for State House | Meg Burton Cahill (D) Rose Crutcher (R) | |
| 18 | Karen Johnson | Republican | Running | Rachel Kielsky (L) | |
| 19 | Chuck Gray | Republican | Running | Steven Zachary (D) | |
| 20 | John Huppenthal | Republican | Running | Donna Gratehouse (D) | |
| 21 | Jay Tibshraeny | Republican | Running | None | |
| 22 | Thayer Verschoor | Republican | Running | Glenn A. Ray (D) | |
| 23 | Rebecca Rios | Democratic | Running | Cheryl Chase (R) | |
| 24 | Robert Cannell | Democratic | Retiring | Amanda Aguirre (D) Russell Jones (R) Stanley Lenihan (I) | |
| 25 | Marsha Arzberger | Democratic | Running | Mary Ann Black (R) | |
| 26 | Toni Hellon | Republican | Defeated in Primary | Al Melvin (R) Charlene Pesquiera (D) | |
| 27 | Jorge Luis Garcia | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 28 | Paula Aboud | Democratic | Running | Michael J. Steimer (I, Write-In) | |
| 29 | Victor Soltero | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 30 | Tim Bee | Republican | Running | Jeffrey Chimene (D) | |
R=Republican, D=Democratic, L=Libertarian, I=Independent/No Affiliation
Analysis
Five incumbents—three Democrats and two Republicans— retired and didn't seek another elective office. Eleven State House members ran for the State Senate, and one State Senator ran for a seat in the State House; switching between chambers, especially when a term limit has been reached in one chamber, is a common occurrence in the Arizona Legislature.[1] Two members of the State Legislature sought statewide offices, and one sought election to the United States House of Representatives.
There were 14 races in which an incumbent Senator or both the incumbent Representatives are sought reelection and faced a primary challenge for the nomination(s) of their respective parties. Out of the 90 state legislative races, there are only six in which there are candidates ran without opposition.
The Republican Party needed to pick up one seat in the State House and two in the State Senate and lose none of their own in either chamber to gain a legislature that could override a Governor's veto. The Democratic Party needed to pick up nine seats in the State House without losing any of their own to form a House majority, and pick up three in the State Senate without losing any of their own to form a Senate majority.
References
- Although in this case the State Senator doing so did not term out, see Ed Ableser's biography